Awakening
by Pulse5
Summary: Sequel to "After The Searing". Set during Eye of the North. The continuing story of Gwen and how the relationships she develops with her allies in their quest to defeat the Great Destroyer shape who she will become and ultimately, her destiny.
1. To the North

_Disclaimer: I do not own Guild Wars, or any of it's character names except my own character. Guild Wars names, items, maps and locations is the property of AreaNet and NCsoft._

* * *

**Chapter One: To the North**

The dust puffed up under Kyte's feet as he landed on the ancient ground beneath the chasm above him. He had just arrived back in Lion's Arch a week ago after journeying from Elona. He had hoped for a longer break but unfortunately wind of his arrival had been spread around, and people began to constantly harass him for certain quests and jobs they required to be done. He didn't take to fame very well. It wasn't so much that he was famous, but his deeds in Tyria had definitely been the subject of many talks around the world. With the help of the famed _Heroes of Ascalon_ Guild, he had rid Tyria of the infamous Undead Lich, a demon sorcerer who attempted to destroy and conquer all of Tyria by harnessing the power of the Scepter of Orr. He had also prevented the return of Cantha's most dangerous criminal, Shiro Tagachi, the man whose deathly cry petrified the Echovald Forest and turned Cantha's seas into what was now known as the Jade Sea. He had single handedly defeated Shiro and saved Cantha with the help of Mhenlo, the leader of the _Heroes of Ascalon_, and the Luxons and the Kurzicks, two rival factions who banded together to defeat a common enemy. Elona was a completely different story. Kyte had travelled to Elona in hopes of learning new things and new cultures, but ended up joining the Sunspears in a legendary quest to stop the former God of the Underworld, Abaddon, from rising again. In the end, all he truly wanted was a break.

"Damn dust." He coughed, waving the dirt away from his face. This request had come from a farmer in the North Kryta Province, who claimed he felt a massive earthquake which formed the crevasse he had just entered. As he cleared the dust from his view, his jaw dropped at the sight before him. An entire complex was built below the chasm, a giant underground temple. The steel structuring looked ancient, but it had no intention of falling apart any time soon. With a deep breath, he moved into the tunnels before him, grabbing a lighted torch from one of walls beside him.

"What in Balthazar is all this?" he muttered to himself. As he continued to move through the steel tunnels, minor earthquakes continued to shake the foundations of the walls in intervals. He had to constantly grab the side of the wall in order to hold his balance as he continued forward.

"Shouldn't have come alone…" he grunted to himself. For a moment he paused. What if this place was riddled with traps? Should he turn back and get a team together before returning? He considered the idea but pressed on when he realized he had gone too far in to turn back now. Whatever waited ahead he would have to be ready. He unsheathed his Fellblade which was strapped to his back and twirled it in his hand. It was a big sword, but it was crafted from a light, yet strong material. With his blade in one hand, and torch in the other, he continued forward slowly, but steadily. He rounded a corner where he came out into a long and large chamber room, with big, tall vertical pillars lined up before him.

"How long has this place been here?" he wondered to himself. As he was amongst his thoughts, he suddenly began to hear voices. They grew louder as he delved further into the chamber, finally coming across a small passageway off to the east of the chamber room. He broke into a run and clambered up a set of steps before coming into what appeared to be a large storage room, occupied with many dwarves hauling barrels and one who seemed to be barking orders at them.

"Alright you lot, pick up the pace!" the dwarf yelling orders cried out. "Take as many kegs as you can manage, we're going to need them."

Kyte lowered his weapon in surprise as he approached the team of dwarves scurrying around the room, piling up kegs of explosive powder.

"And someone find Vekk!" the dwarf barked again. "We need him to open the gate and get out of here!"

"Hey!" Kyte called out, as he approached the dwarf. "What's going on here?"

"Wha-? Where did you come from?" the dwarf asked in surprise as he turned to face the stranger.

"Are you seriously hauling explosives down here? There's a city right above us you know." Kyte said.

"I'm well aware that there's a-" but he was cut off by an approaching creature that Kyte had never seen in his life before. "Ah! Vekk, there you are!"

"We've got trouble, Ogden," the small creature muttered. He was extremely short, shorter than the dwarf. He waddled as he walked, and he had large round eyes perched on his wide little head, accompanied by two long rabbit-like ears.

"You get that gate working, we'll handle the trouble." the one named Ogden said.

"It isn't that simple." the small creature named Vekk replied. "The Destroyers have completely overrun the Central Transfer Chamber."

"Damn it!" Ogden cursed. "If the chamber is captured, then there's no way back…"

"Hold on a minute," Kyte interrupted. "the quakes have opened other passages, I saw them on my way in. There should be another way out."

"The bookah's right." Vekk nodded in agreement. "There is another gate not far from here, but we should hurry. The Destroyers were right on my tail."

"You'd best be coming with us," Ogden said, turning to Kyte. "If we split up, the Destroyers will eat us alive."

"What are these 'Destroyers'?" Kyte asked, before turning to Vekk. "And what are _you_ for that matter?"

"Me?" Vekk asked. "Right now, I'm your best chance at getting you out of here alive, bookah."

"We can talk later," Ogden said, hurrying them. "We're really going to need your help to get to that gate." He turned to his team of dwarves and barked. "Everyone, get ready to move out, the Destroyers are on their way!" A high pitched scream that caused Kyte to wince echoed through the storage chamber, and Ogden cursed again.

"They're here!" he cried out. "Let's go!"

"Come bookah, the Asura Gate is not far, but we have to move now." Vekk said, motioning for Kyte to follow suit. Kyte, still extremely confused, nodded and chased after the little creature, with Ogden right behind him. As they re-entered the chamber where Kyte had previously come from, the sight caused Kyte to pause. Charging toward them was a large group of what he could only describe as demons. The black creatures were bug-like and terrifying, their piercing cry filling the chamber with fear. Kyte knew from the moment he saw them that if they were to engage in combat, it would not be a win.

"Let's _go_, bookah!" Vekk shouted. He was already at the end of the chamber, Ogden racing ahead of him. Kyte snapped back to his sensors and raced forward, afraid to look back in case the deathly Destroyers were right on his tail. Vekk and Ogden led him through a winding series of tunnels and chambers, with Ogden's team just ahead of them.

"_Those_ are Destroyers?" Kyte asked, running alongside Ogden and Vekk.

"Deadly beasts," Ogden panted. "they'll be the death of us all." The three rounded a corner and Vekk suddenly pointed ahead.

"There! The gate!" he cried out. "Go! Go now, through the big purple glowing thingy!" Kyte had no idea what this Asura Gate was, but he would rather risk going through it than waiting around for the Destroyers to catch up. Taking a deep breath, he raced up the golden ramp and plunged through the gate. Unsure of where he was going, he lost his bearings and stumbled over the ramp on the other side, collapsing onto the ground and planting himself face first in the dirt.

"Nice landing kid." Ogden chuckled, appearing out of the gate just moments after him. Vekk came through after Ogden, panting heavily and attempting to catch his breath.

"Vekk, disable the gate." Ogden said. "Everyone else, set up a perimeter."

"Where are we?" Kyte asked, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.

"The Far Shiverpeaks," Ogden replied. "but more importantly, we're far away from those damned Destroyers." Kyte turned back to see Vekk playing around the Asura Gate that they had just came from. After a new minutes, the gate cracked and shattered, the magical aura within vanishing.

"There aren't many dwarves up here, the few that to reside here are Stone Summit exiles…" but he was cut short. Kyte turned to him.

"What's wrong?"

"No one move." he said firmly. His gaze was fixed on something ahead of him, and Kyte followed it to a sight that almost made him stagger. Walking towards them was the largest woman he had ever met. She was at least half a body taller than him, with shoulder-length blonde hair tied into two plaits. She wore golden armor and carried the largest blade he had ever seen.

"They're called the _norn_." Ogden whispered. "They're big, tough, and extremely bad tempered. We may have to fight our way out."

"Your friend is right," the norn said loudly. "not many dwarves come up here, or _humans _for that matter…"

"There are humans up here too?" Kyte asked curiously.

"There are." the Norn confirmed. "If you survive long enough, perhaps you will meet them." Kyte turned back and whispered to Ogden.

"So where do we go from here?"

"The only way we can go," Ogden replied. "forward."

"Where are we?" Kyte asked, as he gathered himself and looked around. He was in what appeared to be a massive cave, with dwarves shuffling around, carrying the explosive kegs that they had gathered from earlier.

"Boreal Station." Ogden replied. "Take a quick rest and gather your strength, we're heading to the Eye as soon as possible."

"The Eye?" Kyte questioned. "What is that?"

"The Eye of the North." Vekk replied, waddling over to his side. "A large fortress northwest from here. That is where the other humans are located. We will find aid against the Destroyers there."

"Aid?" Kyte said, taking a step back. "You want my help?"

"Your reputation precedes you, Kyte of Tyria." A dwarf answered, hauling the keg barrels into a corner of the cave. "We know about you and your exploits around the three continents."

"I just got back from Elona," Kyte replied. "I don't think I'm ready to-"

"A hero has no rest." Ogden interrupted. "If we don't combat the Destroyers, all of Tyria could be in peril." Kyte took a deep breath and sighed.

"You're right." He said finally. "I am sorry, I'm still a little overwhelmed by all the details."

"No matter." Vekk said. "Let us make haste for the Eye. We will find answers there."

Kyte, Ogden and Vekk gathered provisions and exited the cave that was Boreal Station. As soon as they entered the daylight, Kyte felt the ice cold breeze against his skin and he shivered slightly. He had come from the warm, sunny continent of Ascalon into this cold atmosphere. It has still hard to believe he had jumped hundreds of miles from where he was in a matter of hours.

"Ah!" came a voice from further down the icy slope. "Looks like Jora has recruited help for her hunt!" the voice had come from a large, burly man covered in silver armor. A long, bushy red beard covered most of his facial features. "Not very norn of you, having humans bail you out of your situation…" Another norn was standing next to Olaf. It was a female, but she looked just as strong as he did.

"There is nothing wrong with accepting help from others, Olaf." The woman said. "Especially if one cannot become the bear. Come, let us leave Jora to her challenge." With that, and to Kyte's surprise, the two norn began to morph. Their bodies twitched and twisted until both norn were transformed into two large bears standing on their hind legs. He roared and raced past the three of them back into Boreal Station.

"What was that all about?" Ogden asked, turning back to Jora.

"Olaf and Sif are right," Jora replied, referring to her norn comrades. "I cannot accept help from others. This hunt is my hunt… my responsibility. We will go our own way. Go to the north, you will find allies there."

"You sure?" Kyte asked.

"Certain." Jora answered. "Perhaps we will meet again, human." With that she gave a curt nod before heading back into the cave.

x x x x

It had been several days since the Charr attempted to siege the Eye of the North from the Ebon Vanguard. Gwen had been placed in charge of the Eye while her commander, Captain Langmar, led a large force and travelled east towards the Charr Homelands. During her time in charge, Gwen had been organizing raids and scouts of the surrounding area, in order to gather food and supplies should Captain Langmar send word of need. At that moment, an Ebon Vanguard watchman came down to report to Gwen.

"We've spotted three individuals heading towards the Eye, ma'am."

"Can you identify them?" Gwen asked.

"One is a dwarf, and the other is a creature we haven't seen before." The watchman replied. "There is a human among them, but we do not recognize him as one of us."

"Okay," Gwen replied. "I'll head outside and see what they want."

"Do you need backup?"

"No, I can handle it." Gwen answered. "But keep an eye out just in case."

"Yes Ma'am." The watchman departed for his post, and Gwen went to retrieve her weapons and armor. Who could these individuals be? The Eye of the North was located in a very isolated area, they didn't get many visitors around here, if any at all. Gwen opened the large steel gates to the fortress and stepped into the frozen air. She strode down the ramp just in time to see the three unknown individuals approach.

"… King Jalis would want to gather what allies we can to fight the Destroyers." Gwen heard the dwarf say before waving her arm out in front of her. A violet light twirled from her fingertips and wrapped itself around the three intruders.

"Don't move!" she cried out. "What is your business here?"

"Please, we were told there were humans here." The human said. His arms were raised, as a sign of surrender. "We want no trouble."

"This is the Eye of the North." Gwen said. "Again, _what is your business_?"

"We're adventurers from the south." The man replied firmly.

"I... I was from the south." Gwen said softly. "From Ascalon."

"We're seeking a place of safety." he continued.

"Safe places are few and far between in the north. You are welcome to stay here." Gwen said finally, satisfied that they were no threat. She releasing the magical barrier and the three individuals lowered their hands in relief.

"Thank you." he said.

"The Ebon Vanguard protects this place, but most of my fellow soldiers are away. I command it in Captain Langmar's absence." she went on. "My name is Gwen."

* * *

_I understand this chapter did not contain much about Gwen, but this telling was necessary in order for the story to progress. The rest of the story is intended to focus on Gwen from here on!_


	2. Reunion

_Disclaimer: Some dialogue used in this Chapter are not my own, and belong to AreaNet and NCsoft, as part of the Guild Wars Franchise._

**_Authors Note: _**_Ogden, Vekk and Kyte were not referred to by name during most of this chapter because the story is being told from Gwen's perspective._

* * *

**Chapter Two: Reunion**

Gwen invited the three strangers into the Eye of the North and provided them with refreshments and warmth. They claimed they were from the south. Gwen could only remember her past too well. Haunted memories of her time as a Charr slave came flooding back. The people she had lost, the horrors she had to endure while under their command, it brought back too many emotional feelings.

"Are you alright?" the stranger asked.

"I… yes, I'm fine." Gwen replied, snapping back to reality. The human was clearly no merchant or straggler. He was dressed in magnificent silver armour from head to toe. Gwen recognized the make and style instantly. It was armour of a prestige standing, Elite Templar. Gwen had seen it before, but only on the high ranking Warriors and Officers in Ascalon. Whoever this man was, he was of great importance.

"How long have you guys been here?" the man asked, removing his helmet and revealing his short-cut, messy black hair.

"A year or so now." Gwen replied, sitting down at the table with the three individuals. "We've been carefully planning and carrying out stealth missions and investigations throughout the area. We've also been recruiting new allies to our cause."

"Has anyone tried to siege this place?"

"The Charr did, once." Gwen replied, a small smile appearing at the corner of her lips. "We managed to drive them back all the way to their homeland. We run across the occasional Charr patrol, but they haven't launched a second full scale assault since."

"There are many humans here." The man added, looking around the fortress. There were workers and soldiers everywhere. Blacksmiths forged swords, merchants supplied soldiers with goods and tailors were weaving armour.

"This isn't even half our population." Gwen stated. "Our commander, Captain Langmar, took a large force out with her to the Charr Homelands to strike them at the heart."

"Amazing." The dwarf muttered. "To think there would be such a large human population so far north."

"We came across the Eye of the North by accident," Gwen explained. "We've been guarding the place ever since."

"Who'd be stupid enough to try and take such a fortress from such a well organised army?" the Asura asked quizzically.

"We don't think it's the fortress they want." Gwen replied.

"What do you mean?" the man asked.

Gwen hesitated before answering. "Come with me." She said finally. "There's something you should see."

Gwen led the three individuals to the back of the fortress, where a massive doorway was closed off by a large, thick metal door. Gwen nodded to the two soldiers guarding the doorway and they pushed open the door to reveal a large circular room with various tapestries hanging from the walls. The roof of the room was high and magnificent, like a cathedral.

"We call this the Hall of Monuments." Gwen said.

She brought them into the centre of the room , where a great octagonal pool sat, the water within unmoving and completely still.

"This is what we've truly been guarding." Gwen said, motioning to the pool. The man reached down and looked into the crystal clear water.

"I've seen something like this before." He said. "In a book I read during my time at the Shing Jea Monastery."

"In Cantha?" Ogden asked.

"It's a scrying device of some sort."

"That's right." Gwen confirmed with a nod. "We know it has magical properties but we haven't managed to get it to work at all."

"Let me have a shot." The man said, kneeling forward and placing his hand over the water so that it was just hovering. "Often these things are just a matter of concentration."

"Concentration?" Gwen asked. "If the answer was that simple-"

"When I said concentration I meant _deep_ concentration." The man smiled, looking up. "Luckily the Monks at Shing Jea taught me the art of meditation."

"How will we know if it works?" Gwen wondered. She was becoming more and more suspicious of this human. He seemed to have done a lot of travelling in his time, and his knowledge of the scrying pool definitely startled her, but she had to hide her surprise.

"I'll need a moment." He said. Gwen acknowledged his request and took a few steps back behind him, allowing him to concentrate. The asura and the dwarf followed her and took their positions beside her. Gwen watched closely as the man continued to move his hovering hand over the scrying pool's still waters. Several moments of silence past before something began to happen. The water in the pool began to ripple and an image of some kind began to form between the small waves. Gwen, the asura and the dwarf inched forward to get a better look at the vision.

It was a large, fiery cave of some sort. Gwen was sure that the vision was taking place inside a volcano. Suddenly, something began to rise from the lava inside the volcano. It was a creature that Gwen had never seen before. It's body was insect-like, covered in what appeared to be a hard-stone like carapace. It's body glowed with fire, as though lava was running through its body instead of blood. It shrieked loudly, and Gwen had to cup her ears due to the high-pitched scream that echoed off the golden walls in the Hall. That's when the man closed his hand and drew it back, staggering back on his feet and placing a hand over his eyes. As soon as he had stopped focusing, the vision in the scrying pool had ceased and the waters became still once more.

"What in Balthazar's name was _that_?" Gwen asked, rushing over to the fallen hero and helping him to his feet.

"A Destroyer." The man replied, panting. "We fought them earlier. They've captured the underground Dwarven and Asuran tunnels."

"Amazing." Gwen said, looking at him with astonishment. "No one else has been able to activate the scrying pool until now."

"Just lucky, I guess." He said, giving Gwen a small smile.

"I guess…" Gwen wondered. There was something about this man that was different from any other Warrior that she had encountered. He seemed… special, and even familiar, now that she had looked into his eyes. Whatever it was though, she would have to wait until later to find out. She quickly changed her chain of thought back to the Destroyers.

"These Destroyers," she began. "they're coming this way?"

"Seems like it." The man replied, gathering his thoughts.

"We have to rally the local populace." The dwarf finally spoke up. "The Norn are the only ones that can help us now."

"We can't do that," the asura butted in. "we have no idea how much of the gate network has been compromised!"

"Exactly!" the dwarf replied. "We're on our own now. The battle starts here, today!"

"What do you suggest?" the man asked the dwarf.

"The Destroyers are coming up from the Depths," the dwarf explained. "we need an army. A big one, right now. Please help me convince the Norn to help us fight this threat."

"The Destroyers are responsible for driving my people to the surface, west of these mountains." The asura said. "We should contact them immediately."

"No." Gwen said firmly, entering the conversation. "The Ebon Vanguard needs your help."

"What?" the man questioned, now looking at Gwen.

"The large strike force led by Captain Langmar I told you about," Gwen explained. "They left for the Charr Homelands weeks ago, I have not heard back from them since and I'm starting to fear the worst."

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" the man asked.

"We just met, I did not know if you could be trusted." Gwen said. "But after the events that have just transpired, I'm willing to take a chance." She moved towards him to look him in the eye. "These are _your_ people we are talking about now. I need your help to find them."

"It's up to you, bookah." The asura said. "Which do we do first?" the man turned and walked a few paces back towards the scrying pool, giving a huge sigh.

"I'm always stuck with the tough decisions." He said.

"Just lucky, I guess." Gwen reiterated. A moments silence passed between them as the obvious leader of the three strangers that had only moments before wandered across the frozen lake to Gwen's doorstep, strolled back and forth, making his decision.

"I've weighed up our choices." He said finally, approaching them. "We will assist Gwen in finding the Ebon Vanguard first. Their lack of word is definitely troubling."

"Thank you." Gwen said, showing her gratitude.

"As soon as we're done, though, we will head north to recruit the Norn." He continued. "Then we will aid your people, Vekk."

"We will follow you, wherever you go." Ogden nodded in agreement. The asura known as Vekk did the same.

"I will make preparations." Gwen said. "We will leave at first light."

"Wait." The man said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as she turned to leave. "I'm very sorry, we forgot to introduce ourselves."

"I am Ogden Stonehealer, loyal follower of King Jalis and servant to the Great Dwarf." The dwarf bowed.

"I'm Vekk, asuran engineer and one of the finest minds among my people." The asuran said with pride.

"And I'm Kyte, one of the Heroes of Ascalon." The man said, smiling and holding out his hand. Gwen grasped it firmly and returned the smile. The Heroes of Ascalon were a great and popular Guild. Gwen had only heard of them in stories from refugees and travellers from the south. The Guild was said to be led by Mhenlo, a powerful Monk from Serenity Temple. Though most of the Guild's activities were vaguely unknown, the group were responsible for preventing Tyria from falling into chaos on a number of occasions. Gwen felt almost honoured and privileged to have a member of such high esteem standing in front of her. Her smile faded almost instantly as her childhood memories began to flood back to her. She knew the man that was standing before her. She had known him as a child in Ascalon before the Searing.

"Kyte…" she muttered under her breath.

"Yes…?" he asked.

"I remember you." She said, after a pause. "We met before the Searing. Devona brought you to us."

Gwen witnessed Kyte's eyes lighting up as he recalled the past events of his youth. He had been a young recruit training to become a soldier in the Ascalonian Army, when a training exercise went wrong. He had been brought to Sarah, a herbalist and Gwen's mother, in hopes that her treatment would heal him. And it had. In his days of recovery he remembered the bright, cheerful and cute little girl he had befriended before…

"Gwen." He said finally, after a moment of staring into space, he grasped her hands and gripped them tightly. "I remember. Your mother, she took care of me, but you-" he stopped suddenly, almost as though the memories he was having was causing him pain. "-you were taken. Bandits took you away. I never got the chance to see you again…"

"Let us go help with preparations Vekk." Ogden said, shuffling the small asura forward. "I think these two need some time alone." Kyte gave Ogden a small smile as if to say thanks, and then turned back to Gwen, who was shaking just as much as he was.

"_What_ happened to you?" Kyte said finally. Gwen looked away, avoiding his gaze. She felt so much pain and anger, but also relief and joy. The young boy she had connected with all those years ago was a full grown adult now, much like her. All of the terror that she had experienced as a young girl filled so much of her past that she had almost forgotten the good memories she had before the Searing, before she had been separated from her mother. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to tell him, but she was hesitating.

"Gwen," Kyte began, tears welling in his hazel eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I could not protect you that day. I know I promised that I-"

"No." she cut him off, and brought a gentle hand to his cheek. "There was nothing you could have done that day. I don't blame you for anything."

"After several years I had given up hope," he continued. "I heard the most terrible stories of slaughter and massacres. I feared you were…." He could not say that final word. No, he refused to. During his travels, he didn't want to believe that the small, innocent girl he once knew was dead, but after a while, he slowly began to accept it as the truth. And soon, memories of her became supressed.

"You've grown up." He chuckled, placing a hand on her head, a reminisce of what he used to do all those years ago. Gwen merely smiled and choked back tears of her own, grasping his warm hand in hers. "I can't believe I've found you, after all this time."

"Funny how the world works." She replied, releasing his hand and throwing her arms around him, drawing him in for a big hug. "With all the horrible memories of my past, I'm glad I finally found a good one to hold on to."

"Remind me to thank this Captain Langmar when I finally meet her." Kyte grinned. Gwen laughed and held him close to her, not wanting to let go.

"Kyte," she said. "I have _so_ much to tell you."


	3. Escort

**Chapter Three: Escort**

Gwen spent the remainder of the night catching up with her long forgotten friend, discussing their adventures and the experiences they had during their time apart. Gwen learned that Kyte, as part of the Heroes of Ascalon, had banded together a team of heroes to save the continents of Tyria, Cantha and Elona. Kyte learned of Gwen's descent into slavery after her capture in Lakeside County, the people she met during her time under the whip and also the people she lost. Gwen also told of her attempted escapes which eventually became successful, and how she taught herself the skills necessary to survive before she encountered the Ebon Vanguard.

"It sounds like we've both been through a lot." Gwen finally said, when the tales of their adventures came to an end.

"That's definitely one way of putting it." said Kyte, putting a hand on his two swords beside him. "You know, these swords are the very same ones I received from Devona the day I saved that family from the bandits. Do you remember?"

"I do." replied Gwen softly. "I also remember the beautiful green grass fields, the lovely, tall trees, and the sound of the rushing river that I used to sit by."

"It was home." said Kyte, smiling.

"Yeah." Gwen said, looking down. They were pleasant memories, but since then her home had been turned to ash, the green fields into barren landscapes, and the rushing rivers were all but dried up.

"Which reminds me, I have something of yours." Kyte said, reaching into one of his bags and pulling out a small flower with beautiful red petals. Gwen remembered it well.

"Red Iris." she whispered, as Kyte placed the delicate flower in her hands. I kept it as a memory of you but after a while… I forgot I had it."

"I can't believe you kept this for so long." Gwen said, shocked but touched. Tears began to well in her eyes once more as she held the flower between her fingers.

"Keep it." he said. "As a memory."

"Thank you." Gwen said, as she reached over to hug her dear friend once more.

"We better get some rest." said Kyte, breaking the embrace. "We can talk more tomorrow. We have a long day ahead of us."

"You are right." Gwen agreed, wiping the wet tears from her face. "Good night." she watched as Kyte gave her a smile, gathered up his armour and carried it to his room. She continued to sit for a while on her own, twirling the red iris flower in her fingertips and embracing the fact that at last, something good had come back into her life.

x x x x

Dawn broke over the horizon as a new day began. Gwen, Kyte, Ogden and Vekk packed supplies and provisions for their journey east towards the Charr Homelands, where they hoped to find Gwen's allies, the Ebon Vanguard.

"Do we know the way?" asked Ogden, as he hooked a staff to his back.

"We have a map." Kyte replied, pointing to one of his bags. "But Gwen seems to know the way as well. We won't get lost."

"Certainly hope not." Vekk added. "Time is something we cannot afford to waste right now."

"Noted." Kyte winked. "Let's go, Gwen is waiting outside." As they exited the fortress, Gwen was awaiting them at the foot of the walkway, where she was sketching something in the snow. As Kyte and the others approached, she spoke up.

"The journey northeast won't be very easy." she began, and referred them to a makeshift map she had drawn in the snow. "The mountains around here are dangerous, and prone to avalanches. To get to Grothmar Wardowns, we'll have to travel through the Norrhart Domains and the Bjora Marches, until we come across Longeye's Ledge."

"Sounds like a bit of a walk." Kyte joked. "What's our estimated travel time?"

"If we keep pushing, I'd say we'll make it there in three, maybe four days?" replied Gwen.

"So be it." nodded Kyte. "Let's go."

The group travelled for several hours, laughing and telling stories and in Vekk and Ogden's case, explaining to Gwen more about their respective races. Kyte also mentioned some of his minor quests and adventures he undertook while he was travelling, such as participating in a festival in Elona, where he had to rally the support of the three Princes, in the process of which he got drunk during a drinking contest with a man named Zilo, which made his proposition to the Princes all that more difficult. By the end of the day, they were halfway through Norrhart Domains, according to Gwen. She marked the exact location they were at on the map.

"If we keep this up, we'll be in the Bjora Marches by noon tomorrow." she said, dropping her pack at her feet. They had found shelter for the night between two trees, situated underneath a large boulder formation. The air was wintery cold, so the four of them huddled closely around a warm fire.

"We'll take shifts for tonight." Gwen said. "You don't want to know what kinds of things come out here at night."

"As if the cold isn't killing us enough as it is." grumbled Ogden, getting up and kicking a small patch of snow.

"Get some rest, Ogden." Kyte chuckled, as the dwarf laid out a blanket to lie on.

"Don't need to tell me twice."

"I'll take first watch." Kyte said, getting to his feet and moving out in front of the fire.

"Then I will take over for you in a couple of hours." Gwen agreed. She moved over to her side of the fire and lay down, a warm blanket over her shivering body. Whatever Captain Langmar was doing, _wherever_ she was, Gwen prayed to Lyssa that she was alright.

A couple of hours passed, and Gwen slowly sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She looked around at two of her party members: the dwarf and the asura were still asleep, quite peacefully. She looked ahead to see Kyte still awake on watch, as close to the fire as possible to keep himself warm. The night remained silent around their campsite, and Gwen figured it was time for her to take over watch.

"Still up?" she joked, crawling over to Kyte and wrapping her blanket around him and herself.

"Of course." he laughed. "Wouldn't be a very good soldier if I fell asleep on the job."

"You can turn in for the night if you like." Gwen said. "Get some rest."

"I think I might stay for a while." replied Kyte, looking up towards the sky. "I've gotten used to late nights, I wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a while. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"No, I'll stay." Gwen said. "If I go back to sleep I won't be able to wake up again later."

"Such a beautiful night." Kyte stated, continuing to look at the sky, which was filled with an array of green lights: an aurora. "Haven't seen one like this in a while."

Gwen looked up at the northern lights and smiled. "Neither have I."

"Who did you leave in charge of the Eye while you are away?" Kyte questioned.

"One of Captain Langmar's Lieutenants, Kieran Thackeray." Gwen replied. "He's good and reliable, he'll take care of the fortress in my absence."

"The archer with the brown hair?" asked Kyte, a smirk appearing on his face. "I think that guy has a thing for you."

Gwen simply chuckled. She had often spoke to Kieran during her time at the Eye of the North, but she hadn't really thought of him in a romantic sense. "No, we're just friends."

"I see." Kyte replied, smiling.

"Oh, and what about you?" Gwen asked, nudging him in the ribs. "Any romances _you_ haven't told me about?"

"I haven't had time for any real relationships." Kyte laughed. "Been too busy fighting off evil I suppose."

"Seriously?" Gwen asked sarcastically. "No one?"

"Well… there was this one time in Cantha." Kyte said, giving in to Gwen. "Her name was Nika. She was an Assassin that assisted my group in uniting the two factions."

"What happened?" Gwen asked, now curious.

"We couldn't be together." Kyte replied. "We were going in two different directions."

"I'm sorry." Gwen could see that this girl had obviously meant a lot to Kyte. She saw sadness in his eyes.

"Don't be." Kyte said, turning to her and giving her a smile. "We all have our own destiny to follow." Gwen simply nodded and smiled back. A moment of silence passed between them when suddenly Kyte put a firm hand on Gwen's shoulder and jumped to his feet.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear wha-" Gwen went silent as Kyte covered her mouth with his hands and placed a finger to his lips to shush her. Gwen listened intently as she looked ahead into the black night, but continued to hear nothing.

"It's too quiet." she whispered.

"Exactly." replied Kyte. Then, at the moment, several shadows emerged from the darkness, brandishing a variety of different weapons such as broad swords and axes to daggers and knives. All of them appeared to be human.

"What do we have here?" Gwen heard a voice say. It was male, she knew that much, but the origin of the voice could not be seen. Kyte immediately brandished his twin blades mounted on his back, twirling them in his hands.

"I wouldn't, if I were you." the voice called out again. Behind them, Ogden and Vekk, who were sleeping peacefully a moment ago, were being held at knifepoint, obviously caught unaware of the enemy's presence.

"Don't worry about us." Ogden said, but his words got him a kick to the gut. The dwarf coughed and doubled over in pain.

"Drop the swords, now." the voice said firmly. Gwen finally saw who the speaker was. A man revealed himself in the fire's light. He was tall and muscular, tattoos inked all over his arms and face, and he was dressed in fur, as were the rest of his group. Kyte reluctantly dropped his swords and looked into the enemy's eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Whatever you have." the man replied, picking up one of Kyte's blades and examining it in his hands. "Quite an exquisite blade you have here."

"You're thieves." Gwen spat.

"We prefer the term, _Nomads_." the man responded, approaching Gwen and stroking her cheek. Gwen slapped his hand away and scowled.

"Don't you touch her." Kyte threatened. The man grinned as he looked Kyte in the eye, before throwing a punch into his gut. The Warrior dropped to the snow, clutching his stomach. Gwen gasped and rushed over, trying to help him up.

"Perhaps you've heard of me." the man announced. "I am Salihm, former leader of the Corsairs. I now roam the snowy plains of the Norrhart Domains, taking whatever I can and whatever I _want_."

"What's an Elonian doing all the way out here?" Vekk asked.

"That, my little friend, is a good question." Salihm said. Gwen looked up at the thief and scowled. This man intruded on them and demanded their belongings. He was a thug, and Gwen hated thugs. She reached for one of Kyte's fallen blades and swung it around in her hand before grasping Salihm from behind and holding the blade at his throat.

"Let them go!" she cried out, facing the two nomads holding Vekk and Ogden captive. The men hesitated, but a nod from Salihm gave them the order. Vekk and Ogden rushed over to Kyte, who was just getting to his feet.

"Leave us now, and you keep your life." Gwen whispered in the former Corsair's ear. Salihm merely chuckled, and Gwen was taken aback. Suddenly, she felt her body fly forward. She landed on her back, temporarily dazed by what had just happened. Salihm was standing over her, a knife to her throat.

"You will regret holding a blade at my throat, foolish bitch!"

Gwen was completely vulnerable. Kyte's sword that she was holding had slipped through her fingers and was out of reach. Suddenly, another body rammed into Salihm, throwing him to the ground. Gwen looked up to see Kyte crouching over the nomad leader, throwing punch after punch into his enemy's face. Salihm's men moved in to attack but Gwen, Ogden and Vekk were ready this time. Gwen blocked an attack aimed at Kyte and kicked the attacker to the ground while Vekk and Ogden knocked down two more. Salihm had managed to throw Kyte off him and held up a hand to his men.

"Stop, enough!" he cried out. "If this fool wants to fight, let him!" he kicked over one of Kyte's swords and it landed at the Warrior's feet. "You want to protect your woman?"

Gwen looked over to Kyte. Blood was dripping from his bottom lip as he grasped his blade and prepared for combat.

"No one interfere." Salihm ordered, as he drew out a large broadsword. "He is mine."

Gwen watched as the two men circled each other, preparing to block any incoming strike. In the end, it was Salihm who made the first move. He swung his broadsword above his head and brought it down on Kyte's blade. Sparks flew as the two swordsmen battled it out, not giving each other any opportunity to strike a killing blow. Gwen was unsure whether or not to help her friend or not. She could not just sit on the sidelines and watch this battle ensue. Her abilities as a Mesmer could help turn to the tide of the battle…

As if he knew what she was thinking, Ogden placed a hand firmly over Gwen's, to stop her from doing what she was about to do. Gwen looked over at the dwarf and he simply shook his head.

"Kyte has battled the likes of Shiro Tagachi and Abaddon himself." he whispered. "There is no way he will lose this fight." Gwen continued to look on anxiously as the fight went on. She did not know whether she felt reassured or not, but Kyte was not showing any signs of weakening.

Kyte continued to swing his blade in fluid motions, blocking and defending every blow that the former Corsair threw at him. Kyte admitted that he was good, but he had fought better. Having had enough of the swordfight, Kyte picked up his attacking speed. Salihm had no idea what was going on. In a single instant, Kyte had completely changed his style of fighting. Kyte moved his blade like a dance, cutting and weaving as he had done a thousand times before. Salihm did not see it coming. His opponent's blade came down like a ghost, and he was unable to block in time. He screamed in pain and dropped to the ground as his hand rolled away like a stone. Kyte sheathed his sword and grasped Salihm by the neck.

"Leave. _Now_." the frightened nomad stared wide-eyed, cradling his handless limb in his chest. That fear soon turned into anger, then hate, as he growled orders at his men.

"_Kill him_!" he shouted. Gwen raised her weapon in preparation for an attack, but before Salihm's men could make a move, an arrow came down from above and struck the leader in the chest. He gasped for air and clutched his chest before slumping over, dead. Three more arrows rained down from above and hit three more nomads, killing them instantly. Panic set in and the rest of the nomads departed, running off into the darkness.

Gwen watched in awe as the thieves disappeared into the night. Kyte gave a huge sigh and dropped to his knees. Gwen rushed over to him and draped a blanket over her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." he replied, looking into her eyes. "Are _you_ okay?"

"I'll live." she joked, holding him close.

"I think we've established that it's not safe at night." Ogden grumbled. "The sooner we get to Longeye's Ledge, the better."

"Who shot those arrows?" Vekk asked.

"We did." a voice came from the darkness. Four shadows emerged from the darkness and Gwen recognized them instantly.

"Mullenix!" Gwen cried out. Artificer Mullenix and three Ebon Vanguard soldiers stood before them, armed with bows and blades. "What are you doing here?"

"Lieutenant Thackeray sent us." Mullenix replied. "He refused to let you go another day without an escort. I guess he was right to send us."

"I will thank him when we return." Gwen smiled. "Thank you for your help."

"It's an honour, ma'am." Mullenix said, throwing a fist to his chest and bowing. "We'll be glad to accompany you the rest of the way."

"We're glad to have you." Kyte said, giving a small smile. "Some extra hands could definitely come in handy."

"Get some rest, sir." Mullenix said, nodding to Kyte. "We'll take it from here."

x x x x

Fortunately, Gwen and the group did not encounter any other problems or obstacles on their way to Longeye's Ledge. With Artificer Mullenix's escort the rest of the way, they reached Longeye's Ledge in three days.

"We're here." Gwen said, pointing ahead to a sloping hillside. The snow was beginning to recede and Gwen could see patches of grass around her feet, an indication that they were exiting the Far Shiverpeaks.

"We've managed to get you here safely." Mullenix said. "If you don't mind, we'd better be getting back to the Eye. Lieutenant Thackeray needs our help."

"Of course," Gwen replied. "Thank you for your assistance."

"Always, ma'am." with a salute, he and his escort turned around and headed back south.

"This is the home of Olfun Longeye." Gwen stated. "A norn, and ally of the Vanguard."

"A norn?" Ogden asked. "Perhaps we can ask him about joining our crusade."

"You can try." replied Gwen. "But I'm not entirely sure he'll listen."

"Great." Ogden mumbled sarcastically.

"Where do we go from here?" Kyte asked, as they approached the hillside.

"On the other side of Longeye's Ledge is Grothmar Wardowns." Gwen said, a grim look appearing on her face. "It is where the Ebon Vanguard were last seen. The home of the Charr."


	4. Vanguard

**Chapter Four: Vanguard**

Kyte, Gwen, Ogden and Vekk entered Longeye's Ledge not long after Artificer Mullenix and his Ebon Vanguard escort departed them. The ledge was small, situated on the side of a hill overlooking the green Charr Homelands. Several travellers were seen in the ledge, resting or taking a quick break before pushing onwards. Longeye's Ledge was made open to all kinds, and run by the norn Olfun Longeye. His only rule was that no fighting was to take place on his land.

"That's Longeye, over there." Gwen said, pointing a large, bulky norn talking to a group of travellers passing through his home.

"He lives here alone?" Kyte asked.

"Yes, he grants safe refuge to anyone passing through here." Gwen replied. "He might know where the Ebon Vanguard is, or seen them at the least."

The group approached the large norn just as he finished giving directions to a group of humans who were apparently heading north into the Bjora Marches.

"Olfun Longeye?" Kyte questioned.

"The one and only!" he boomed, thumping his chest. "What can I do for you?"

"We want to know if you've seen a party of soldiers wander through here?" Gwen continued. "It would have been a couple of weeks or so ago. They call themselves the Ebon Vanguard?"

"The Ebon Vanguard you say?" Olfun muttered, rubbing his chin slowly. "I believe so, a large, rag-tag bunch of humans?"

"I believe that's them." Gwen nodded.

"Yes, they passed through here not long ago, muttering things about fighting Charr." Olfun replied. "I got no problem with that so long as they don't do it on my land!"

"Do you have any idea where they are now?" Kyte asked. "They haven't been heard from in weeks and we're getting a bit concerned."

"I'm afraid I don't, young one." Olfun replied. "However, I heard some fighting downhill from here a few nights ago. From what I heard, it was a large battle, a big one."

"Whereabouts?" Gwen pushed. A shiver went up her spine. If the battle did not go in the Vanguard's favour, she feared the worst for her allies.

"Southeast from here." Olfun said, pointing towards the location from the outlook. From their vantage point, Gwen could see an area of the land that was completely burnt. "Keep your eyes open; it's likely that you will find some remnants and lost weapons that can be salvaged."

"Thank you for your information," Kyte said to the norn, as Gwen bolted off towards that direction. "We'll focus our search to the southeast, and keep our eyes open." He shook hands with the norn before racing after Gwen, Ogden and Vekk right behind him.

"Gwen, stop!" he called, grabbing her arm. "You need to relax."

"Relax?" she cried out. "Kyte, my people are down there, who knows what we'll find? For all I know it could be the remains of my friends!"

"Gwen, no, if you keep thinking that you will stress yourself out." Kyte said. "We _will_ find them."

"If the Charr killed-"

"Listen to me!" Kyte shouted, cutting her off. "We will find them Gwen, and we will bring them _home_. Do you understand?"

Gwen hesitated and bit her lip, before looking into her friend's eyes and nodding slowly. Kyte drew her in for a hug to comfort her before explaining their plan.

"We'll wait until dark to move out." he said. "We should be able to sneak under the Charr's radar in the cover of the dark."

"I will make preparations," Vekk said, pulling several objects from his travel pack.

"I'll go see if any of these merchants have anything we can use." Ogden said, pointing to a pair of travellers behind them. Gwen walked over to a tree and sat herself underneath it's branches. The thought of losing her comrades, her allies… her _friends_… it was too much to handle. Her whole family had been lost in the Searing, the Ebon Vanguard was all she had left. But Kyte was right, she had to think positively. Captain Langmar would not lead her people to their death, she knew that much. If they had been captured, Gwen would be the one to free them. She _had_ to be.

"You okay?" Kyte asked, coming over and planting himself next to her.

"A little better now." she whispered. "You're right. I can't think like that. I have to have more faith in Captain Langmar and the Ebon Vanguard."

"We'll find them." Kyte reassured her, taking her hand in his. "I promise you this." Gwen nodded and sighed, before leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

x x x x

Nightfall soon came and the party entered Grothmar Wardowns under the cover of dark. Vekk and provided them with little mechanical devices that emitted a purple light. Apparently it was an invention of his.

"Longeye said _southeast_ did he not?" Vekk asked as they followed the dirt trail south towards a wooden bridge.

"Keep that light on," Kyte said, squinting into the distance. "I think I see something." Kyte walked over to a bush and pulled something off it.

"It's a piece of clothing." he said, examining it in the light. "Completely tattered."

"It's one of ours." Gwen said, taking the item from Kyte and feeling the material herself. "We should head further east, I saw something from the lookout at Longeye's Ledge."

The group headed east and found themselves in a war-torn, barren battlefield. Everything was burned and charred into a crisp. Several pieces of armour lay around them, battered and broken.

"Nothing could have survived this…" Ogden muttered, before Kyte shot him a warning look. Ogden looked at Gwen who was examining a broken sword and shut his mouth.

"Looks like a fire storm hit this place." Vekk said, examining his surroundings. "Even the ground is ash."

"Olfun was right when he said a big battle took place." Gwen muttered. "These aren't just Ebon Vanguard armour pieces though, there are some Charr remains over there."

"A few bodies over here." Ogden said, kneeling next to a burnt carcass. "Human, by the looks of it."

"Dead Charr here too." Vekk said, prodding the remains with a stick.

"I found something." Kyte said, picking up a Vanguard helmet and examining it closely.

"That's Captain Langmar's helmet!" Gwen said, snatching the helmet from his grip. She looked it at carefully and held it close.

"Then it's true," she said, coming to the realisation that her allies might be lost forever. "the Ebon Vanguard fell here." Tears began to form in her eyes. Her worst nightmare had come true. "Those bloody savages killed them all…"

"Gwen…" Kyte said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I can understand what you are going through, but-" Gwen shrugged him off and walked away.

"You have no idea what I'm going through!" she cried out. "These dogs took everything from me. My parents, my home and my freedom!" she turned and dropped to her knees. "And now they have taken my friends, the only family I have left…"

"_Taken_ may be the operative word." Vekk stated. "There are not enough human corpses here."

"You may be right, Vekk." Kyte said, looking around, counting the corpses in his head. "There are only a handful of dead bodies, and the majority are Charr. How big was Captain Langmar's force?"

"About forty men and women." Gwen said, standing to her feet, a glimmer of hope appearing in her.

"Then there are definitely survivors." Ogden said. "Prisoners now, no doubt."

"Death is better than being imprisoned by the Charr." Gwen muttered. "Trust me, I would know."

"What's our next move, then?" Vekk asked.

"We must go after them." Gwen replied before Kyte could answer. "We'll make those animals pay for what they have done." At that moment, a loud horn could be heard from several yards away.

"You're in luck then bookah," Vekk said. "it looks like they're coming for us."

"Quick," Kyte said, fiddling with Vekk's light device. "Turn these things off."

They switched off the lights and retreated into the darkness, drawing their weapons as they did. Several moments later, a small Charr patrol of about three appeared over the hill, carrying fire torches and brandishing large scimitars in their big paws.

"I thought I saw a light." one of the Charr growled.

"You're seeing things." another one muttered, knocking his companion on his head. "Stop wasting our time."

"We should take them out." whispered Gwen. "They can lead us to Captain Langmar."

"If you wish to strike, the time is now." Vekk said. Kyte processed his thoughts quickly and nodded. They could handle three Charr easy. The only problem was getting them to talk. He had enough experience with Charr to know they don't break easily.

"Go." he said finally. Gwen was the first to emerge from the shadows. She waved her hand forward, a brilliant violet light trailing from her fingertips. The first Charr felt the effects of Gwen's spell instantly. He roared in pain as he was struck in the side by an invisible force. Gwen then clenched her hand into a fist as she delved deep into the Charr's feeble mind and drew fear. Her victim was gone before Kyte had even bounded forward, his twin blades dancing in his hands. He swiped his first blade before him, knocking his unsuspecting enemy's weapon aside before thrusting his second blade into the heart. His opponent was dead before he hit the ground. The last Charr watched his comrades fall before his eyes before he even know what had hit them.

"Don't move." Ogden said, raising his blade at the Charr's throat.

"And I wouldn't if I were you." Vekk added, jumping atop the Charr's horned head. He raised a small asura-sized dagger above the skull, poised to strike.

"What do you want?" the Charr growled.

"Answers." Gwen demanded, charging past Ogden and grabbing the Charr by the throat. "You took a group of human captives several days ago, _where are they_?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" the Charr choked, losing air. But Gwen's grip tightened.

"I'd tell her if I were you." Kyte warned. "I can't stop her."

"I would rather die." the Charr gasped. Gwen looked into the beast's eyes with malice.

"Wish granted." she muttered, before thrusting her blade into the beast's heart. She threw the body to the ground and sighed.

"He was our only lead." Ogden said.

"No," Gwen said. "before they arrived here, they blew the horn. It is an alarm."

"Meaning?" the dwarf asked.

"Meaning the Charr watchtowers in this area would have lit their beacons to see any intruders that come through." Gwen continued. "We can follow the watchtowers to their stronghold, and take them out."

"We'll have to eliminate the watchtowers along the way as well." Kyte said. "We don't want them giving out any warnings."

"And into trouble we go…" Ogden sighed.

"Comes with the job." Vekk said, giving Ogden a light punch in the arm. "Let's go."

"There," Gwen said, pointing across the field to a beacon lit by fire. "the first watchtower."

The party used the cloak of darkness to sneak their way over to their target, careful to stay in the shadows and out of sight. There were several Charr on patrol around the tower as they approached, and one in the tower itself.

"The one in the nest is going to be hard to kill." Ogden whispered, as they hid in the cover of several small bushes.

"Let me handle that." Kyte said, sheathing his twin blades and drawing out a sleek dagger that was strapped to his thigh.

"What are you doing?" Gwen murmured, grabbing his arm and holding him back. "You'll get killed! We need a plan!"

"Watch me." he grinned. He crept his way out of the bushes and towards the watchtower. The first Charr didn't even see it coming; Gwen watched as Kyte grabbed the beast from an unseen location and thrust the dagger into his neck, silencing him instantly.

"He's good." Ogden muttered under his breath.

"I didn't know he could do that." Gwen replied, just as awestruck as the other two. Kyte continued his killing spree by taking out a further three more Charr in the cover of the dark, leaving the last one in the tower.

"How's he going to kill that one?" Vekk wondered. His question was answered when Kyte bolted out from where he was hidden and ran for the tower.

"He'll be exposed!" Gwen cried out. But Kyte did not reach the tower. In the blink of an eye, the young warrior disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Where did he go?" Ogden asked, shocked.

"Up there!" Vekk said, pointing to the tower. Kyte had reappeared behind the Charr watcher and eliminated him without revealing his presence. Kyte reappeared on the ground and signalled them to come out of hiding.

"How in Balthazar did you do that?" Ogden asked, running up to the young warrior.

"Assassination." Gwen said. She had seen it before. One of the Ebon Vanguard, Anton, was a skilled assassin who also possessed the same ability to teleport from one place to another.

"I spent almost a year at Shing Jea Monastery." explained Kyte, sheathing the dagger. "They taught me how to conduct assassinations."

"But you... teleported?" Ogden asked, bewildered.

"It's called a shadow step." Kyte went on. "The art of moving from one spot to another in a single instant, in order to catch an opponent off guard."

"Impressive." Vekk said with admiration. "I have not seen anything like that where I come from."

"You can shadow step… anywhere?" asked the dwarf, still in disbelief.

"Only to places within a certain radius." Kyte said. "I can't shadow step to… say, Lion's Arch."

"We have to keep moving." Gwen said, hurrying them along. "It won't be very long until a patrol arrives and finds their comrades dead."

"Gwen is right," Kyte nodded. "we have to move on."

The party continued to move towards each of the watchtowers, eliminating each one as they went along, careful not to let any of them escape. Some of their plans required all of them, as Kyte could not use shadow step indefinitely. The amount of energy it took to perform such a feat was beginning to drain him.

"Do you need to rest?" Gwen asked, placing a soft hand on his cheek. They had just taken out the third watchtower.

"Maybe just a little." chuckled Kyte, slumping to the ground.

"I have some consumables." Vekk said, fishing through his pack and producing an essence of celerity. Kyte instantly felt his energy coming back to him as he thanked Vekk.

"Vekk and I will scout out the road ahead." Ogden said. "We shouldn't be far from the stronghold now."

Gwen nodded and smiled. "Be careful." The dwarf and the asura jogged off into the night and disappeared in the shadows. Gwen sat herself down next to Kyte and wrapped her arms around his, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry about before." she whispered.

"What are you talking about?" he chuckled.

"I snapped." she replied. "When you told me you knew how I felt." Gwen felt remorse for her actions against her friend, but she could not help it. Anything to do with the Charr made her furious. They took everything from her and she could never forgive that. How could anyone know how she felt?

"You don't have to apologize." he said, holding her hand in his. "You're probably right though, I don't understand how you feel. I didn't go through the pain and terror that you did."

Gwen said nothing. What could she say? He was right in a lot of ways. Her experience as a Charr slave was torturous. In the end she merely looked at him with sad eyes.

"But I'm here for you Gwen." he said. "Always."

"Thank you." she whispered. She smiled warmly at him and leaned in to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Ahem." Ogden stood before them, Vekk peeking around his shoulder. "The stronghold is just ahead, we made it."

"Right," Kyte said, clambering to his feet in embarrassment, with Gwen doing the same. "Great work guys."

"How heavily guarded is it?" asked Gwen, keen to change the subject.

"Surprisingly empty." Vekk said. "There are several patrols in there but most of the stronghold is empty."

"Then we should strike now." Kyte replied, drawing his swords and looking at Gwen. "It's time we got our people back."

"For the Vanguard." Gwen added, drawing her weapon. Ogden and Vekk did the same. "Let's kill some Charr."


	5. Stronghold

**Authors Note:** Thanks for the reviews, I enjoy receiving reviews from readers and have them let me know about things they think should be added or changed, or things that perhaps doesn't quite fit in with the Guild Wars world. I take these reviews on board for future chapters. So thanks for reading!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Stronghold**

"So how are we doing this?" Ogden whispered from the darkness. The group were approaching the Charr Stronghold located at the heart of Grothmar Wardowns, currently invisible on the enemy's radar and hatching a strategy to strike them at the heart.

"How many enemies did you say there were?" Gwen replied, directing her attention to Vekk.

"A few dozen, give or take." the small asura replied. "But it's strange for a stronghold to be so few in number…"

"They must have sent their warbands elsewhere." Kyte said. "They obviously have something more important happening somewhere."

"Something involving the Ebon Vanguard?" Gwen questioned. Her party had recently discovered that the Ebon Vanguard had been in a bloody battle with the Charr not long ago, and had gotten themselves captured in the process. She was uncertain if Captain Langmar was still alive. The bodies at the battlefield had been completely burned and unidentifiable.

"We'll have to find out." Kyte replied. "Someone must be in control of the Stronghold. If we get to them, we'll find out what's going on."

"Even with the Stronghold's decreased numbers, they would still overwhelm us and destroy us." Ogden pointed out. "We need some sort of diversion."

"A distraction would prove useful." Gwen muttered. "What have you got in mind?"

"Ah, that's where I come in." Vekk jumped up, looking very excited.

"What have you got, Vekk?"

"I have managed to acquire some explosives of varying degrees." he explained. "Fireworks, the explosive powder used in kegs, you name it."

"How long can you give us?" asked Gwen.

"Thirty minutes or so." the small asura replied, fumbling through his pack.

"That should give us plenty of time to sneak in and look around." Kyte agreed. "Whenever you're ready, Vekk."

"I'll go with him." Ogden volunteered. "Someone will need to watch his back."

"I can handle myself fine on my own-"

"Yeah, yeah, get moving." Ogden interrupted, shuffling out of the shadows they were hiding in and into the soft moonlight.

Gwen and Kyte watched as the dwarf and the asura approached the entrance to the stronghold, revealing themselves to the two Charr on guard.

"Hold it!" one of them growled, and striding over to them. "Who are you two?"

"Just passers-by." Ogden replied, eyeing the Charr's enormous axe nervously.

"This late at night?" the other Charr grumbled. "I don't think so."

"Yeah we uh…" Ogden mumbled. "decided on a midnight stroll…"

"Got it!" the asura cried out, just as the fireworks in his little hand sparkled brightly. Vekk tossed the firework into the Charr's face just as it exploded and a shower of brightly coloured lights.

"Argh!" the Charr cried out, covering his eyes, temporarily blinded from the explosion.

"Let's go!" Vekk shouted, making a run for it in the opposite direction, with Ogden hot on his tail.

"Get backup!" the blinded Charr growled, recovering and running after the troubling pair. After a moment, several battalions of Charr exited the Stronghold and gave chase.

"That's our cue." Gwen said, moving out from her hiding positing with Kyte right behind her. The pair of them entered the Stronghold without any issues, avoiding anything and anyone that would reveal their presence.

"If we search the tents, we might be able to find information on the Ebon Vanguard." Gwen muttered. "Maybe we should split up?"

"Good idea," replied Kyte. "but stay _out of trouble_."

"Got it." nodded Gwen, but Kyte continued to stare at her.

"I mean it." he reiterated. "Don't start anything."

"Don't worry about me." she reassured. "I know what's at stake."

Satisfied with her response, Kyte branched off to the right while she went left. Gwen moved through the Charr camp without a sound, being wary of her surroundings. There were still a few Charr moving about the Stronghold: the workers, not the soldiers. But even still, any one of them could spot her if she gave them the opportunity. And the result would not go well in her favour.

"Captain Langmar where are you?" she whispered to herself. As she rounded a corner she saw an abnormally large tent pitched ahead of her. That _had_ to be the Commander's tent. Making sure that no one else was aware of her presence, she approached the tent and peeked inside.

"Empty." she muttered to herself, before slipping inside. The tent was dimly lit and cold. Pieces of armour and weaponry lay about, with a large tapestry displaying a large symbol which Gwen could only guess represented their Legion. Ahead of her stood a large wooden table with parchments and scrolls scattered across it. She approached the table and began sifting through the items until she came across a map.

"Map of the Stronghold…?" she asked herself. It certainly looked like it. She found her location and scanned the map for any signs of where the Ebon Vanguard might have been taken. Then she saw it, on the far end of the Stronghold, a prison hold, a jail.

"Bingo," she smiled to herself. Wherever Kyte was, she had to find him and notify him of her findings, but from the looks of the map, the Stronghold was a big place, a place where one could easily get lost in. Gwen snuck her way out of the tent as cautiously as she had entered, and made haste for the prison end of the Stronghold. She prayed to the Gods that her allies were there.

As Gwen rounded the corner, she ran straight into an incoming Charr worker. The beast, just as surprised and shocked as she was, took a moment to analyse the situation, before a snarl appeared at the corner of his lips.

"Intruder!" he cried out. He bounded over to a nearby weapon rack and grasped a long spear, aiming the bladed end straight at Gwen's chest.

As if acting on instinct, Gwen grabbed the pole and used its momentum to pull herself forward, throwing her right leg into the Charr's stomach. The beast roared and doubled over in pain, his grip lacking on the weapon. Gwen disarmed her enemy and spun the spear around to pierce the Charr through his furry chest, where he gasped for air before going still.

Gwen breathed a sigh of relief before moving forward. She didn't hesitate to kill that Charr and she never had hesitated when it came to killing the Charr. Taking the life of a Charr was no threat to her. In fact, it made her feel good. Sometimes she wondered if this made her just as much of a monster as they were, but then she would remember what the Charr did to her and her people, and all those doubts simply washed away. The Charr she had killed was a worker, barely any skill in fighting. It was an easy kill, but if anyone had heard his cry, she wasn't going to stick around to find out. Gwen began sprinting towards her destination, still fairly cautious of her surroundings but not as much. She didn't have time to wait around and sneak about. Vekk had only given them thirty minutes.

_Still no sign of Kyte_, she thought to herself. What had happened to him? Gwen tried not to dwell on the bad thoughts that filled her mind. Kyte was an experienced Warrior, there was no way he would fall to the Charr.

_Almost there_, she told herself. And she was right, the prison was just ahead of her. She could see the black steel cages mounted next to each other, but she couldn't make out the prisoners locked inside, it was too dark.

"Captain?" she asked, but not too loud that she could be heard. No response came from the cage or any of the cells that surrounded it. They were empty.

"Trapped like a mouse." a voice spoke to her from behind. The words sent shivers up her spine as she turned to see a large Charr towering over her, a fire torch in one hand and a massive axe in the other.

"You're one of _them_, aren't you?" he snarled, and Gwen could see the saliva drooling from his large teeth. "Not very smart, are you? Coming alone."

The beast had Gwen backed into a corner. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Her only option was to fight, but even she couldn't take a fully grown Charr warrior on her own, it wouldn't be an easy fight.

"I'm not afraid of you." she spat, drawing her weapon and holding it out in front of her.

"You should be, little _mouse_." the Charr threatened. "All you're efforts are going to be in vain. You will die right here."

"Not without a fight," Gwen said, moving into a stance. "if I go down, I'm taking you with me."

"I don't think so." the beast replied, nodding to something behind Gwen. Almost hesitant, Gwen turned to see what the Charr was talking about. Situated directly behind her was a large wagon, loaded with explosives: bombs. And she was trapped. The dread filled her mind as she realised the situation she was in.

"Time's up!" the Charr roared. "Know this, meat: you and your people will die at my hands, the hands of Gordam Griefgiver!" with that, he tossed the flame torch over Gwen's head and towards the wagon filled with explosives.

It all went down in slow motion. Gwen watched as the flame torch soared over her head and towards the object that would bring her apparent death. This was it, this was how she was going to die. Not a hero, not in battle, but as a mouse, trapped and unable to escape. Captain Langmar... Kyte… Vekk and Ogden… she had failed them.

Then all of a sudden, something had grabbed her from behind and everything seemed to move in real time again. She looked up to see Kyte grasping her around the waist.

"Gwen, _move_!" he cried out. He grabbed his companion from behind and threw her forward, towards where Gordam Griefgiver had been. The Charr warrior had disappeared, obviously to find shelter for what was coming next. The flame torch hit the wagon and it exploded instantly, sending debris in all directions. Gwen watched as the young warrior who had thrown her to safety was caught in the blast, the explosion lifting him off his feet and sending him several metres into the air, where he landed behind Gwen, his body rolling to a stop.

"KYTE!" she screamed, rushing over to him. She tried to shake him awake, but there was no response from her companion. "Get up, please…"

"How noble." the voice of Gordam Griefgiver said. The Charr Lieutenant revealed himself from his cover, brandishing his axe and a new weapon. "The human male sacrificing himself for his female counterpart."

Gwen shot a look at the Charr beast, a look of pure hate and malice. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she continued to kneel beside her friend. At that moment, Vekk and Ogden game bounding into view, stopped short by the scene before them.

"By the Great Dwarf…" Ogden muttered under his breath, as he looked at Kyte's motionless body, Gwen crying over him and the flaming wagon behind them.

"It can't be." Vekk said. "It can't be!"

"Oh, so you do have companions." Gordam snarled, realising Ogden and Vekk's presence. "I guess the Legion couldn't _do their job_."

"They did seem to fall into our traps fairly easily." Vekk replied simply.

"Bloody fools." Gordam scoffed. "I guess I have to finish the job."

"It's three on one." Ogden stated, stepping forward and drawing his weapon, and Vekk backed up him up.

"I'm fairly certain I could wipe all three of you out without breaking a sweat." snarled Gordam, twirling the axes in his hands.

"You will _pay _for this." Gwen said, rising to her feet. Without warning, she bounded forward and waved both her hands through the air, a brilliant violet light trailing her fingertips. An invisible force hit Gordam in the chest, throwing him backwards, but not phasing him in the slightest. Gwen did not break her attack, she formed an illusionary weapon in her hand and leapt into the air, striking down on Gordam with all her might.

"The mouse has fight!" Gordam laughed, deflecting Gwen's attacks one by one. The woman did not speak nor falter, she continued her assault as though she was on a mission.

"Let's go Vekk!" Ogden cried out, taking Gwen's attack as a cue to join in.

"What are we supposed to do?" the small asura questioned.

"I don't know, back her up!" the dwarf responded, running into battle. Vekk sighed before giving chase. He was an engineer, not a fighter, but his elemental skills could provide some assistance, he assumed. Vekk drew out his staff and cast an incantation, and a bolt of lightning struck out from the tip of the staff, heading straight for the Charr, but it did not reach its intended target. A skeletal figure intercepted the attack, protecting Gordam from harm and barring Vekk's lightning spell.

Stunned, Vekk looked around to see several undead bodies rising from the ground, surrounding him and Ogden before they could reach Gwen.

"What in the Great Dwarf is this?" Ogden asked, backing up into Vekk.

"A Necromancer's spell of some kind," Vekk analysed. "But I didn't pick that Charr to be a Necromancer."

"That's because he is not." a deadly voice called out. From behind them, another Charr emerged from the darkness and into the light emitted from the flame torches mounted around the prison sector. He was larger, bigger, and his fur was a charcoal black. Gwen turned to see who had interfered with the fight and was caught off guard, Gordam throwing a kick into the young woman's chest, sending her tumbling backwards into her two allies.

"Commander Soulreign." Gordam said, standing to attention immediately.

"Where are the warbands, Lieutenant?" the Charr known as Soulreign asked his second in command.

"The dwarf and the midget led them on a wild goose chase sire," Gordam growled. "they're probably out there still looking."

"Can I rely on no one here?" Soulreign cried out. "Must I do everything myself!"

"I was just in the process of eliminating them myself, Commander." Gordam replied.

"Where are the Vanguard captives?" Gwen interrupted, climbing to her feet. "What have you done to them?"

The black Charr known as Soulreign stepped forward and snarled at the bold woman, baring his sharp, canine teeth, but Gwen did not flinch. She stood her ground and stared back.

"You slaughter your way through my camp and demand information from me?" he growled. "Me, Harvest Soulreign?"

"You took my people captive." Gwen replied firmly. "I think I have the right to demand whatever the hell I want."

"You have no rights in this place." Harvest Soulreign roared. "And you will not find your answer here. Here, you will only find death" His mouth was so close to Gwen's face she could smell the beast's breath as he spoke, but she did not move.

"Death is what we seek." she replied simply. "It suits your kind well."

"Be careful of your words, little mouse." Gordam said, speaking up. "You are staring death in the face."

But Gwen simply ignored him. "This is not death." she said. "I will bring you to death's door."

"You dare to speak to me as an equal, child?" Harvest Soulreign snarled dangerously. "The Shamans command us here, and we command you to die!"

"You first!" Gwen shouted, throwing an elbow into the Commander's face. The was a sickening _crack_ and Harvest Soulreign reared backward, clutching his nose which had begun bleeding profusely.

"Kill them!" he roared. Gordam, at the orders of his superior, lunged forward, his teeth bare and his axes swinging above his horned head. Gwen was prepared, she drew her weapon and blocked the first assault, and flipped backward several feet in order to recover her composure.

Meanwhile, Vekk and Ogden were being surrounded by undead creatures summoned with the dark magic of the Commander, Harvest Soulreign.

"You cannot escape death." he breathed, commanding his undead warriors to attack. Vekk fended off a few with his staff and began chanting an incantation.

"Anytime now, Vekk!" Ogden cried out, dismembering several undead skeletons and avoiding a strike to the head. Vekk completed his spell and thrust his staff into the ground, a shockwave of electricity shattering the ground beneath them and electrocuting the undead skeletons within range, shattering them instantly, but several more undead took their place.

"They just keep coming!" Vekk shouted back to his companion.

"I've noticed, thanks!" Ogden replied, waving his arm before him, conjuring up a magical blue shield which deflected his enemy's attacks. "I can't hold them for long!"

While her allies were trapped fighting an endless army of undead monsters, Gwen struggled to keep her enemy's attacks at bay. The Charr were an aggressive race, and their attacking style reflected that. Gwen had no problem defending, but the force of the attacks were wearing her down. As a woman she didn't have the build nor the proper upper body strength to combat a fully grown Charr.

"It's over, meat." growled Gordam, hammering Gwen with strike after strike. Gwen dropped to one knee and one final strike was all it took to disarm her. Gordam Griefgiver towered over her, his axes raised above his head, ready for one final blow, but Gwen was not going to give in to the Charr. _Never_.

She mustered up all the energy she could gather from within and conjured up a spell. Her hands glowed violet and her eyes flashed purple as she delved into Gordam Griefgiver's mind and attempted to tear it apart from the inside.

"Argh!" the Charr roared as he dropped his weapons and clutched his head in pain. "What is this sorcery?"

Gwen continue to torture the Charr's mind, drawing out the nightmares, the pain and the fear. No holding back, she thought. He deserved to _die._ But something was going wrong, and she felt it. Gordam Griefgiver was fighting back. He was stronger than she anticipated, or perhaps it was because she had been weakened already. Either way, this Charr was breaking her spell, and she was losing her grip.

"Get out!" he roared, "Get out of my head!" Gwen felt her spell break and she fell to the floor, unable to move for several minutes. She had failed, _again_.

"No…" she whispered. "It can't end this way…"

"It ends now!" Gordam cried out, picking up his fallen axe and charging to Gwen.

_Move!_ She thought to herself. _Move, Gwen!_ It was hopeless, her body was not obeying her commands. She watched helplessly as the Charr lunged forward, axe raised, poised to strike. Then she saw the beast fall to the ground, its eyes wide with shock and surprise. The body of Gordam Griefgiver collapsed to the ground before Gwen, only feet away from her. She looked up to a young warrior standing over the body, a dagger buried deep into the spine.

"Kyte…" she whispered. The man winced as he held his arm, which was limp in his grip, obviously broken. Kyte retrieved the dagger from his victim and hobbled over to Gwen.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She said nothing and threw her arms around him, bringing him in for a tight hug.

"Ouch!" he grimaced. "Easy…"

"Sorry," she replied, releasing him. "I thought you were dead!"

"I feel like it." he replied painfully. "There's no time to discuss it now, we need to help Ogden and Vekk." Gwen nodded in agreement and staggered to her feet. She was still weak from her previous spell in which she had used most of her energy, but she had recovered just enough to stand.

"Kyte!" Ogden shouted when he saw the warrior heading towards them, dagger in hand.

"Flank him!" Kyte ordered, indicating to Harvest Soulreign.

"It's going to be hard." said Gwen, watching all the undead creatures forming from the ground.

"Can you fight?" asked Kyte.

"I have enough energy for one last attack." she grinned.

"Then let's do it."

Harvest Soulreign was too busy conjuring his army of undead creatures to notice that his second in command had fallen in battle just moments ago. He was too focused on killing the dwarf and the asura that he almost missed seeing Gwen's sneak attack in the corner of his eye. He barely dodged the attack and turned to face his new foe.

"You will perish here tonight." he said, aiming his staff at Gwen.

"The only bodies falling here tonight will be Charr." she said, bounding forward and sending a flurry of attacks at the expecting Commander.

"You'll have to do better than that." Harvest Soulreign scoffed, deflecting her attacks easily. Gwen backed off and smiled. Before the Charr Commander realised that he had been played, Kyte had leapt on his back and thrust the dagger deep into his victim's neck.

"Is this good enough?" he asked, as Harvest Soulreign gurgled and clawed at his neck, blood rushing down his charcoal fur. As soon as his life ended, his undead army shattered into pieces and crumbled to the ground around Vekk and Ogden. Gwen gave a huge sigh and dropped to her knees.

"It's over." was all she said.


	6. Prisoner

**Chapter Six: Prisoner**

Kyte knelt down next to the corpses of the Charr Commander and his second in command. They had managed to defeat the beasts, but only just. The battle had taken its toll on all of members of their party. Kyte was baring severe injuries to his back and minor burns to his left arm from the bomb explosion he had been involved in while attempting to save Gwen, while Ogden's energy was left completely drained after combating an army of undead. Vekk was in a similar state, though his right arm was in a makeshift sling after one of the undead beasts landed a hit.

"We've searched this entire camp." Kyte muttered, shaking his head ruefully. "There's no sign of the Ebon Vanguard, or if they were here at all."

"Aye." Ogden replied, walking over to his human leader. "I can see now why the girl hates them so much. They fight well… not to mention dirty."

"Gwen will be disappointed that we have nothing to go on." replied Kyte, sheathing his twin blades.

"We'll find something eventually." Ogden assured. "This is the only stronghold for miles, there has to be something."

"Well wherever they are, they aren't here." said Kyte, before a frantic Vekk came running from the vicinity of the prison cells.

"Quick! Come, that bookah girl has gone insane!" he cried out. Kyte and Ogden gave a quick glance at each other before chasing after the small asura. They entered the prison area and headed into a section that had been blocked off by a door before. Kyte saw the charred remains of the door and its hinges and assumed that the bomb explosion had opened the way. He, the dwarf and the asura rushed in to see Gwen taunting a prisoner in one of the cages. At first Kyte thought it was a human, but as he approached he saw the deadly teeth and the unmistakable figure of a Charr.

"Gwen, what are you doing?" he cried out.

"I'm doing my job, killing Charr!" she replied viciously, using her Mesmer powers to force the Charr into submission.

"You are a brave little mouse…" the Charr growled, attempting to resist her magic. "Unlock the cage and we'll see how brave you truly are."

"Shut up!" she cried, increasing her magic. The Charr howled in pain as it dropped to one knee.

"Kill me, and you will never see your friends alive again." the Charr mumbled under his breath.

"Gwen, hold on." Kyte said, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"He's a Charr, Kyte!" she retorted. "Don't listen to his lies, he is no better than the rest!"

"Those Charr you killed are no friends of mine, mouse." the Charr prisoner growled. "They captured my warband and your precious soldiers. Both are marked for _death_."

"What are you talking about?" Kyte replied, stepping in front of Gwen and staring into the Charr's deadly eyes. "Speak clearly, or I'll let my partner here finish what she started."

"The Charr here, that you killed, were members of the Shaman caste." the Charr prisoner began. "They led our people into worshipping false gods."

"Go on." Kyte said.

"My warband disagreed with the Shamans, and were captured." he continued. "As were your people."

"He's lying!" Gwen shouted. "All Charr are bastards."

"Some of us more than others, little mouse." the prisoner replied.

"Where were they taken?" asked Kyte.

"I want a deal, meat." the prisoner growled.

"What _happened_ to our people?" Kyte asked again, a threatening tone appearing in his voice. He was getting impatient. Gwen could hear that, but she did not understand why he was allowing this Charr to talk him into his lies. The Charr did not deserve to live.

"Here's the deal." the prisoner said. "You aid me in rescuing my warband, and in return I will help you find yours."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Kyte suspiciously.

"You don't." the prisoner responded simply. "But if the girl kills me, you will lose the only chance you have of finding them."

There was a moment of hesitation with Kyte, as he thought on the matter. He could not trust the Charr, but in this case he had no choice. They had nothing else to go on, no leads.

"Alright, Ogden, let him out." he said, and the dwarf nodded, moving over to release the cage's door.

"No!" Gwen cried out, grabbing Kyte by the arm. "You cannot trust him!"

"Gwen it's the only lead we have." Kyte tried to explain, but Gwen was hysterical.

"I will _never_ ally with a Charr!" she shouted, before storming off. Kyte turned back to the Charr and his eyes narrowed.

"We have a deal, Charr, but mark my words, I'll be watching you." he warned.

"Point taken." the prisoner nodded, getting to his feet and walking out of the cage as Ogden released the latch. "I am Pyre Fierceshot. Your enemies are mine."

Gwen exited the stronghold and ran into the dark, tears welling in her eyes. How could he? Her closest friend, betray her and ally with a Charr? She had fought so long against the beasts, her dreams were haunted with memories of what they had done to her people and her home. He had _no _idea how she felt about them. If he was in her shoes, he would think twice about trusting one of _them_. She ran and continued to run through Grothmar Wardowns for a how long, she did not know. She came to a stop next to a big oak tree and slid to the ground, curling herself up into a ball. It was quiet and calm, just how she liked it. It wasn't long until her thoughts and worries caused her to drift off to sleep…

"Gwen?" a voice called her. "Gwen wake up." she blinked her eyes open and took a moment to remember where she was. She looked up to see Kyte standing over her, attempting to wake her from her slumber. She almost smiled until she remembered why she was under a tree and why she had run from the stronghold.

"Don't." she grumbled, getting to her feet and moving away from him.

"Gwen, listen," he began. "if we didn't take Pyre's deal, we would have nothing to go on."

"Pyre?" she questioned menacingly. "So you two are on a first name basis now? So glad that you're getting along so well."

"I know you're angry with me." he continued. "But please, you have to trust me."

"How can I trust you?" she cried out. "You left me alone when I was a child, and now you betray me to the Charr!" she stopped, surprised at the outburst she had just had, and the words she had spoken. Kyte's silence was enough to send regret up her spine. She spun around and looked into the young warrior's eyes.

"I… I'm sorry." she said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"No," he said, moving into the shade of the tree and sitting down. "you're right."

"No, no I'm not." she said, hurrying next to him. "I know you did your best to find me all those years ago. I do not blame you."

"But you blame me for this." he said, giving her a small smile. Gwen turned away and said nothing. "This could be our only chance to find Captain Langmar and the others. Please Gwen, just _trust _me on this one."

Gwen hesitated before answering. "And what if you're wrong?" she said. "What if we help him find his warband, and he turns around and kills us?"

"I won't let that happen." Kyte said firmly. "I will not let him harm you."

Gwen gave a little chuckle as she looked at him with big eyes. "I'll be watching him." she said finally.

"I'll be watching him closely as well." Kyte replied. "He doesn't breath without me knowing."

"I'm sorry Kyte." she said softly. "I shouldn't have run off."

"I don't blame you." replied Kyte. "I may not understand how you feel completely, but I get it."

"So what now?"

"We follow Pyre," Kyte explained. "his warband is being held in a dungeon. We need to free them before he will help us."

"I'm still uncertain of this." Gwen confessed.

"Look, if he tries anything, I'll let you be the first to gut him." Kyte said with a grin. Gwen simply laughed and leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks." she said.

Gwen and Kyte made their way back to the camp Ogden and Vekk had set up not far from where Kyte had found Gwen. They had already started packing things up when they arrived, but Gwen spotted the Charr prisoner they had rescued and strode up to him, fists clenched.

"If so you so much as try to-" she began, but was instantly cut off.

"You're partner over there already gave me the lecture." Pyre growled. He did not even glance up as Gwen approached. "I know you don't trust me, but in this case, you don't have a choice."

"If it were up to me-"

"If it were up to you, you'd be nowhere." Pyre interrupted again. "Be grateful, little mouse. As soon as we find my warband, we can find your people, and then we can part ways."

"The sooner the better." replied Gwen. The conversation was cut short when Kyte, Ogden and Vekk appeared beside them.

"Where are we going Pyre?" asked Kyte, strapping his swords to his back.

"We go north, to Doomlore Shrine in the Dalada Uplands." answered Pyre, pointing the way forward. "That is where my warband are being held captive."

"Sounds easy enough." Ogden shrugged.

"It is far from easy, dwarf." Pyre grunted. "The Shrine will be guarded by many Charr and their leader, a Shaman known as Scorch Maulclaw."

"We'll find a way." said Kyte. "How long will it take for us to get there?"

"A days walk." Pyre replied, polishing his bow. "We will be at the shrine by morning."

"Then let's get moving." said Kyte. "The longer we delay, the less time our friends have."

x x x x

The group walked in silence as they journeyed through Grothmar Wardowns and into Dalada Uplands. No one wanted to speak, and no one had anything to say. Not in the presence of a Charr anyway. Gwen could not keep her eyes off the Charr prisoner, of fear he would turn around and suddenly attack. But the Charr did not attempt anything, he simply led the group forward to their destination. It would be foolish to try anything anyway, with four on one, it was suicide, even for a Charr.

Dusk was approaching, and the group made their way up a large grassy hill, which overlooked the Uplands before them. Pyre brought them to a stop and pointed ahead. Gwen saw a large mountainside, and at the base, a structure surrounded and shaded by large trees.

"The shrine is there." Pyre said. "It is heavily guarded, inside and out."

"What's our plan of attack then?" asked Kyte.

"We will attack at dawn," Pyre instructed. "the gate defences can be easily taken care of, if we have the element of surprise."

"And once we're in?" asked Ogden, clearly not looking forward to any sort of Charr confrontation.

"Once inside, we go for Scorch Maulclaw." Pyre growled. "Take down the Shaman, and the rest will fall with him."

"Sounds a lot easier than one would assume." Vekk stated matter-of-factly.

"It does, but it is not." replied Pyre. "Scorch Maulclaw is a powerful Shaman. He can burn an entire stronghold to the ground."

"That's comforting." Ogden gulped. "Remind me again why we're helping this Charr?"

"So we can rescue the Ebon Vanguard." said Gwen, giving Pyre a menacing glare. "And the Charr better _keep_ his word."

"You will have your people, as I will have mine." Pyre replied.

"Make camp here, we move at dawn then." Kyte said.

As the sun broke the horizon the next morning, the party had already begun making their move. They had devised a strategy in order take out the shrine's gate guards. Pyre had scouted the area first, laying traps in tactical positions around the entrance, careful to not give away his presence. He came back a half hour later, giving Kyte the nod.

"It is done." he said.

"Right," acknowledged Kyte. "remind us of the plan."

"You, the girl and the dwarf will engage the gate guards." Pyre explained. "One of you will be the bait, lure them into my traps, I have marked where they are."

"And me?" asked Vekk curiously.

"You will remain with me, on this hill." Pyre continued. "We will provide aid from a distance."

"I… um… are you sure?" Vekk asked nervously.

"Relax, asura." Pyre grinned. "I won't bite, besides, you are injured." he motioned to Vekk's arm.

"Right." Vekk said, not convinced in the slightest.

"Alright, let's move." said Kyte, moving on. "Gwen, Ogden, cover my position from behind that rock, I will lure them into the traps."

"Good luck, human." Pyre said, as he drew his bow from his back. Kyte merely nodded and headed for the shrine's gate.

Kyte noticed that Pyre had marked his traps by planting an arrow in the ground. He moved behind the first one and made his presence known. The Charr guards spotted him instantly as he began shouting and waving.

"What is a human doing here?" one of the gate guards growled, his spear pointed in front of him.

"Kill him and be done with it." another guard shrugged.

"What, too afraid to take me yourself?" taunted Kyte.

"Ignorant fool!" the guard roared. "I will gut you myself!"

Kyte simply laughed and motioned for the Charr to come over and "get him". He slowly withdrew his blades and stood in his position. The Charr guards were approaching. Kyte counted at least six or seven of them. As they drew nearer and nearer to the trap, Kyte began to back up. The first three Charr guards walked straight into Pyre's carefully placed trap. Several spikes shot up from the ground, piercing their legs and crippling them indefinitely. They howled in pain as the fell forward and landed on more wooden spikes. Two of them died as the spikes pierced vital organs. The remaining Charr guards backed up as soon as they realised they had walked into a trap and attempted to walk around, but two more of Pyre's traps activated, sending a massive cloud of dust into their faces, blinding them.

"Now!" Kyte cried out. He charged forward, blades swinging in his hands. Gwen and Ogden raced after him, brandishing their weapons and cutting down the Charr that were too distracted by Pyre's dust traps. Gwen quickly dispatched of two Charr, who were too busy trying to wipe the dust from their eyes while Kyte eliminated the two remaining Charr stuck to the spike trap. They gave no resistance as they fell. Gwen looked over to Ogden, who was combating one Charr, but the other had recovered from the trap and was charging toward him, fangs and claws bared.

"Ogden!" she cried out in warning, but it was too late, the Charr was nearing on the small dwarf. Suddenly, two arrows planted themselves in the attacking beast's back, sending him to the ground where he went still. Gwen looked up to see Pyre drawing two more arrows from his quiver and firing them at the last remaining Charr. The beast fell forward, nearly crushing Ogden.

"Phew." Ogden breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow. "There's no way a dwarf like me can fight two massive Charr alone."

"Sorry, Ogden." Gwen said. "We'll be more careful next time."

"Good aim." Kyte said as Vekk and Pyre joined them minutes later.

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." he replied. "Quickly, we must hurry."

Pyre approached the gate and grasped the lock on the door. He turned to his allies, who were standing behind him, ready to fight. He used all his strength and snapped the iron lock from the door, and allowing them access into the shrine. He barged in and roared loudly.

"Scorch Maulclaw, the time of the Shamans is over!" he announced. At the end of the shrine stood an altar, where a large, red-furred Charr stood, dressed in white-armoured attire.

"Pyre Fierceshot." Maulclaw growled. "How you escaped the stronghold in Grothmar Wardowns is beyond me, but you will not escape the shrine."

"Today, you die." Pyre spat, raising his bow and firing a well-aimed arrow at the Charr Shaman. The arrow howled towards its target, but before it could reach it, the arrow went up in flames and cindered into nothing.

Scorch Maulclaw simply laughed and motioned for his guards to attack. The many Charr in the shrine were smaller than the gate guards had been, and as soon as the group engaged them in combat, they knew that they were also less experienced. Gwen cut down two, three, four Charr in quick succession, before moving back to defend Vekk, who was handicapped. Kyte protected Ogden, who would easily fall against an army of Charr, even weak, inexperienced ones. Ogden continued to cast protective enchantments around the group, shielding them from enemy projectiles. Pyre roared with rage as he barged forward, killing every Charr that got in his way. He drew and arrow from his quiver and thrust it into an enemy's eye, before mounting it on his bow and firing it ahead, where it struck another enemy in the chest, killing him instantly. The Charr around him were mere annoyances, his real target was Scorch Maulclaw. Certain that his allies could handle themselves, we charged for the Shaman, firing multiple arrows in quick succession. The Charr Shaman cast a protective shield around him, deflecting the arrows the Pyre had fired. As Pyre drew within an arm's reach of his enemy, he discarded his bow and lunged forward, fangs and claws bared, but he had underestimated the Shaman. Scorch Maulclaw grasped him by the throat in mid-air and drew him closer.

"By coming here, you saved me the trouble of finding you and killing you myself." Maulclaw said viciously. Pyre clawed at the paw that grasped his throat so tightly, gasping for air. "I'll burn you alive, you useless traitor." With his other hand, a large ball of flame conjured up. Pyre eyed the fireball, certain that he had met his end, but he would not die without a fight. He spat in the Charr Shaman's face and snarled.

"You dare spit at a Shaman?" Maulclaw roared. He raised his flaming fist, ready to bring it down on his victim, but he cut short when an arrow planted itself into his left eye. The Shaman howled in pain as he dropped Pyre, who clawed his way back several feet to safety. Pyre looked to his right where Gwen stood, armed with his own bow. She fired another arrow, where it struck Scorch Maulclaw his chest, and another, which hit him in the throat. The Charr Shaman choked for air, clutching his throat as blood oozed from his eye. He dropped to his knees and collapsed to the ground, where he finally went still.

"You… saved me?" Pyre said, looking up at Gwen. She turned to him and stared.

"Make no mistake." she said. "I did not do it for you." she walked over to the Shaman's corpse and killed it several times, making sure he was dead.

"Shrine is clear." Kyte said several moments later, as he approached them with Ogden and Vekk lagging behind. "Where are your warband, Pyre?"

"We are here." came a voice from behind them. Two Charr approached them, and Pyre moved to greet them.

"Gron! Bonwor!" he greeted. "You are here."

"Managed to break free after you lot launched an all-out attack." the one known as Gron stated. "A foolish plan, I might add, but effective." he then turned to Pyre. "Pyre, you should be dead!"

"It was the Hierophant's plan." Pyre replied with a grin. "It didn't take."

"And now you're reduced to working with these… meat." Gron replied, glancing at the group. "How the son of Vaatlaw has fallen."

"We just saved your lives!" Gwen butted in. "You dare call us-" but she was stopped short when Kyte placed a firm hand on her shoulder, reeling her back in.

"So this is your warband?" Kyte said, moving the conversation on.

"I am Gron Fierceclaw," Gron said, then motioned to his black-furred friend. "that here is Bonwor Fierceblade."

"Who else of the band lives?" asked Pyre.

"Sear, Cowl and Roan." replied Gron. "The priests have taken them below."

"Below?" asked Kyte, curious.

"To the Cathedral of Flames." Gron answered.

"Then we must follow." Pyre said. "Gron, Bonwor, I will need you two to stand watch out here."

"We can't just leave them alone." Gwen spoke up.

"I thought you didn't like having my friends around, mouse." Pyre said, grinning.

"Just give me any excuse to gut you." she breathed.

"Feisty one you've got here, Pyre." Gron chortled.

"Gwen, relax." Kyte whispered to her, before turning to Pyre. "Pyre, we just want to recover our people."

"You will, human." he said. "But for the moment, you must trust me a bit longer. We must work together."


	7. Cathedral

**Chapter Seven: Cathedral **

The group packed and readied their belongings for the rescue mission to save the remaining members of Pyre Fierceshot's warband. Kyte sat with Vekk and organised his belongings: refreshments and injury kits in case they bit off more than they could chew down in the chasms below. Kyte, however, hoped it would not come to that. Because of their numbers, they had to play tactical and wise. It was a good thing Pyre seemed to be a professional at that sort of thing. It made Kyte wonder how he got captured in the first place. The supplies they had found at the Shrine were used to heal the injuries they sustained from the previous assault on the Grothmar Wardowns Stronghold. Vekk's arm was out of its sling and Kyte's burns weren't as severe.

Gwen sat away from the rest of the party, not wanting to be converse or even be close to the Charr brothers. The thought of working with them left a bad taste in her mouth. She still wasn't used to the fact that they were 'allies', or whatever that meant. Her whole life she had treated the Charr as beings of destruction, menace and death. She had been raised to hate them and detest them, but more importantly, she had been specifically trained to kill them. She never thought for a second that she would ever be working with one.

"You sure you're ok with this?" asked Kyte as he approached her and sat himself down in front of the small campfire she had going. "You don't have to come."

"Stay here and remain with the other two mongrels?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "No thanks, I'd rather go where there's still some kind of human presence around."

"I know this is tough for you." Kyte went on. "But we won't have to work with them for long."

"I know." she responded, poking at the campfire with a stick. "I just keep thinking of Captain Langmar and the others, and it gets me through it. I remember why I'm doing this."

"Good." said Kyte, giving her a small pat on the shoulder as he got to his feet. "I wouldn't want to leave you with other two Charr anyway." he walked away with a small smile and Gwen responded with one of her own. She snuffed out the campfire and gathered her things before following her friend to the cathedral entrance, which was located behind the altar.

"We're ready, Pyre." Kyte said as his party of four stood beside him. The Charr nodded and gathered his bow and quiver.

"Let's spring my warband from this hellhole." he grunted.

"You sure you don't want us along, Pyre?" asked Gron Fierceblade.

"Someone has to watch this place." Pyre noted. "We don't want the Shaman's coming back unannounced."

"Tear a few extra throats for me." grinned Gron, and Pyre replied with his own menacing grin as he nodded and led the party into the chasm.

The road down was deep and long. Gwen felt the air change gradually from warm to chilling as they descended deeper into the cave. After a while the flight of steps ended and they were on level ground again. As soon as Gwen saw what was before them her mouth dropped. The chasm was massive. Huge. Flaming torches lined the stony walls, providing light to the path ahead.

"Welcome to the Cathedral of Flames." Pyre grunted, as he grabbed one of the flaming torches that hung on the wall. "This is where the Shamans make their prayers and sacrifices to the false gods."

"How inviting." Vekk muttered under his breath.

"The place is huge, how are we going to know where your brothers are?" asked Ogden.

"I have a map, taken from Scorch Maulclaw." Pyre replied, patting the pack attached to his back. "The prisons are marked."

"Convenient." Kyte mumbled. "Let's get this over with."

Pyre led them through the caverns, intertwining tunnels that all looked the same in Gwen's eyes, but Pyre seemed to know where they were going. He led them through a tunnel of narrow passages before they entered a great hall, lined with banquet tables and chairs. Candles sat on the tables as well, each were lit and still burning.

"This place looks like it hasn't been used in centuries." Gwen commented. "But the candles are lit."

"That doesn't seem good." Ogden muttered.

"It rarely is." Vekk responded, detaching his compact staff from his waist. Being a genius engineer, Vekk had crafted his own mechanical staff, which could extend and contract at his own leisure. Being half the normal size of a human, he found that carrying such a long staff around would prove irritating. His party responded by drawing their own weapons as well.

"It's too dark, I cannot see the end of the hall." Pyre whispered, waving the flame torch in front of him. The light from the other torches mounted on the walls provided little assistance as well.

"It's definitely too quiet." Kyte muttered.

"One of my warband should be located at the end of this hall." said Pyre softly. "Be on your guard."

Gwen could feel something stalking them in the darkness. No doubt it was the Charr, but should could not see anything. Suddenly, something grabbed her from behind and she acted on instinct, spinning around to swing her blade at the assailant, but the blade struck air. Whoever had grabbed her had vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Something just tried to grab me!" she warned the others.

"As I feared." Pyre muttered. "Assassins."

"The Charr have Assassins?" asked Kyte, bewildered.

"They are rare, but they do exist." replied Pyre. "And they are deadly."

Upon hearing this news, Gwen turned her vision three hundred and sixty degrees. She had never had an encounter with a Charr Assassin before, and she was unsure of what to expect. She simply held her blade out in front of her, ready to defend. Then it came, two daggers forming out of the shadows into a dark figure. The assassin bore down before her, as if appearing from thin air. Gwen only just managed to block the killing strike, but the force of the blow knocked her off balance and she fell to the ground, exposed. Then, a bolt of lightning struck the attacker, distracting him and causing him to retreat into the shadows once more. Vekk had defended Gwen with a simple incantation, the smoke from the attack still searing from the end of his staff.

"Thanks Vekk." she said, getting to her feet. "How do we beat these guys?"

"We have to expose them in the light." Pyre said. "It's too dark, we need more light."

"I think I can help with that." Vekk grinned. He fished through his pack and pulled out the mechanical light devices they had used back in Grothmar Wardowns. He threw one to Ogden, who activated it instantly. The brilliant purple light emitted from the device, lighting up the great hall. Vekk activated the second light device and shone it the opposite direction. The Charr assassin's covered their eyes and growled as the light revealed their positions.

"There!" Gwen cried out, bounding forward. Vekk kept the light on her position as she sprang ahead to attack the assassin. Her flurry of blows staggered her target, who was still distracted by the beam of light aimed in his direction. It blinded him, making him unable to fully defend against Gwen's assault. She caught an opening in defence and struck, slitting the throat of the Charr assassin and sending him to the cold floor.

"One down." she spat. A _twang_ of bowstring saw Pyre Fierceshot locate the second assassin and plant a well-aimed arrow between his eyes. The assassin dropped to the floor instantly. Then, from the shadows behind them, a patrol of Charr emerged.

"Trespassers _will_ be executed." the leader of the patrol growled. "Kill them all!"

"The one in front is the Prison Guard!" Pyre cried out. "He has the key!"

"Got it!" Kyte acknowledged, bolting forwards. He engaged the Prison Guard in one-on-one combat as their swords clashed together. Gwen, Vekk, Ogden and Pyre took the remaining patrol guards. Vekk cast an incantation and sent a forceful shockwave around him, knocking back all foes and sending them tumbling to the ground in disorientation. Gwen followed up with her magic, throwing several guards into the stony pillars around them. They crumpled to the floor, as their backs broke under the immense pressure of impact.

Kyte back-flipped several paces to recover as he eyed the Prison Guard carefully, before throwing himself forward in a reign of flurries and deathly blows. The Prison Guard defended well, but he was big and brawly, hardly in a shape to move at the speeds Kyte was able to move. The young warrior dove forwards, striking low and sliding between Charr's legs, severing the ankles in the process. The beast dropped to his knees, crippled and in pain. Kyte finished the job by planting his blade deep into the Prison Guard's back.

"Grab the key." Pyre said, as the last Charr fell. "One of my brothers is just ahead."

As the group reached the end of the great hall, they were met with a tall, large wooden door. Pyre grabbed the key from Kyte and inserted it into the lock and twisted. Several clicks and clangs were heard and the door creaked open. The party ventured forward into the dark room, which was more brightly lit than the one they were just in. At the far end of the room, they saw a Charr chained to the walls, arms and legs bound.

"Seer Fiercereign." Pyre chuckled. "I never thought I'd see you in this position."

"Well, well." the Charr known as Seer grinned, as he looked up to see his fellow brother in arms. "I never thought I'd see you again, Pyre." he glanced at the company Pyre had behind him and chortled.

"And what have we here?" he questioned. "Did you bring these human slaves to carry your pack, Pyre? Or are they lunch?"

"You ungrateful-" started Gwen, but Pyre held up a paw to silence her.

"Times have changed, Seer." he responded. "These humans help us of their own free will."

"_Some _of us help of our own free will." Gwen muttered under her breath.

"Then it seems we fight together." Seer said, as Kyte and Pyre freed him from his shackles. "Cowl and Roan are held further down below. We mustn't waste any more time."

"Agreed." Pyre nodded, clapping his brother on the back, and tossing him a sword. "Good to have you with us, brother."

"Let's tear some throats." Seer grinned, twirling the blade in his paws.

"How deep does this Cathedral go?" asked Vekk, as the group hurried back into the great hall, with Seer now leading the way.

"Quite far, little one." Seer responded. "They separated us, fools were probably afraid that they couldn't handle us if they kept us together."

It wasn't long until the descended deeper into the cavern. Gwen could feel the cold air chilling her bones as they continued to journey through the cathedral. Thankfully, the flame torches on the walls provided some source of heat, as well as a source of light. the cave grew gradually brighter as the amount of torches that hung on the wall increased in number. Soon, almost everyone in the party was holding on.

"Cowl shouldn't be far from here." Seer said as they rounded a tunnel. "I overheard him being guarded by Flameshielders."

"Hah!" scoffed Pyre. "That would be sensible. Always wild with the elements, our brother."

"I heard he took out two of the guards within the first hour of his imprisonment." laughed Seer. "I'm surprised they didn't kill him on the spot!"

The group approached rounded the next corner and came face to face with the prison patrol guarding who they assumed to be their comrade behind a large iron door. As soon as the Flameshielders spotted Seer they roared.

"The Ritualist has escaped!" one of the cried out, raising a spear. "Capture them!" and with that, the group was thrust into combat once more. The enemy was considerably more difficult this time around, due to their use of magic. It was difficult to get close to them to attack. Pyre had no problem with this however, and fired off three arrows, downing three targets instantly, but the others were quick to focus their powers on him, chasing him into hiding.

"They aren't letting up!" Kyte cried from behind a stone structure. Fireballs were being hurled past them, and Gwen could feel the immense heat they were emitting.

"I can seal their magic." Gwen said, stepping up. "But only for a moment."

"A moment is all we need, mouse." Pyre nodded. Gwen moved to the edge of her cover and waited for a pause in their assault. As the last fireball soared past the pillar, she sprang from her hiding place and thrust her arms out in front of her. Her eyes glowed a brilliant violet as she called upon her domination magic to block the Flameshielder's magic. The Charr magisters attempted to cast their magic and incantations, but nothing happened. Momentarily stunned, Gwen's allies stepped forward and launched an all-out assault, wiping out the remaining Flameshielders instantly. As soon as they were dead, Gwen halted her power and dropped to one knee, panting. The spell had taken a fair amount of energy from her, and to use it against such a number of foes nearly crippled her.

"You ok?" Kyte asked, helping her to her feet.

"Fine," she responded, giving him a small smile. "I just need a moment."

"You did well, little mouse." Pyre admitted. "Take a moment while we break out our brother."

Pyre took the key from the fallen Prison Guard and approached the iron door. He unlocked the door and pushed it open slowly, when several ice shard sailed over his head, narrowly missing him.

"What the-"

"Pyre! Seer!" the Charr inside the room announced.

"What kind of welcome was that?" Pyre snapped at his kin.

"Sorry brother, I thought you were _them_." Cowl Fiercetongue laughed, walking up to his two companions.

"You mangy mess!" Pyre said with a grin. "I thought the Shamans would have killed you by now."

"They wanted to make a grand spectacle of my execution," he replied. "otherwise I would have been slaughtered days ago."

"Lucky for you." Pyre said, handing Cowl one of the staffs he had picked up from the fallen Flameshielders. "Let's find Roan and get the hell out of here."

"Who are these?" Cowl asked, as he spotted the two humans, the dwarf, and the asura.

"Allies, Cowl." Seer explained. "They rescued Pyre, and they rescued me. We fight together."

"Then I will be glad to fight by your side." Cowl said, holding his staff up high as a sign of respect. Kyte merely nodded in response. He still had Gwen under his arm, who was slowly recovering her energy.

"Can we move on?" asked Pyre, glancing at Gwen.

"Gwen?" Kyte asked. She gave a quick nod and took in a deep breath. She had recovered some of her energy, but nowhere near enough to perform the same feat as she had before.

"Then let us get Roan, and get out of here." Seer grunted.

"Sounds good to me." Ogden muttered, following Cowl as he led the way forward deeper into the caverns. They were closing in on the descent into the inner temple of the cathedral when Kyte broke the silence.

"We haven't run into much resistance." he said. "Who is leading the Flameshielders?"

"A powerful Shaman." replied Cowl muttered, baring his teeth in revolt. "One known as Flamemaster Maultooth. He commands the Legion here, and he is a very powerful enemy."

"He must be stopped." Pyre said. "And we will be the ones to do it."

"So why are you helping us?" Seer asked, turning to the young warrior. "Humans and Charr have been at war for decades, this seems like an unlikely alliance."

"The Legion took our comrades, the Ebon Vanguard, captive in order to sacrifice them to their gods." replied Kyte. "As they were going to do to you, I assume."

"So you are looking for them?"

"Pyre agreed to help us rescue them if we agreed to help him break his warband from imprisonment." Kyte said.

"And so we shall." Cowl answered from the front of the pack. "A deal is a deal."

"We're here." Pyre said, stopping short. Ahead of the group was another large door, guarded by several Charr Warriors. "The inner sanctum is beyond those doors."

"Roan is bound to be in there." said Seer, brandishing his weapon. "Let us free our final brother in arms and bury this place."

"Then I shall cast the first blow!" Cowl roared, bounding forwards. The Charr elementalist thrust his staff into the air, and shards of ice began to form from the water in the air. The shards where razor sharp, and soon the Charr Warriors found that out. The shards ripped through their armoured plating and buried themselves deep in the body. The warriors fell within a second, dead on the floor.

"That was easier than expected." Cowl said, triumphant. "Let's get this door open."

Once unlocked, the group had to work together to push the large and heavy door wide open. When they appeared on the other side, Gwen's jaw dropped. Before them, was a large open room, with several trees lined alongside one another. The trees however, were completely charred and burnt. Some were still on fire.

"What is this place?" asked Gwen.

"The inner sanctum." replied Pyre, heading into the heart of the flaming room. In the centre of the room, surrounded by the flaming trees, was a Charr, arms chained to the ground in front of him.

"Roan!" Pyre cried out, causing the imprisoned Charr to look up. "Ah, you're still alive. I was looking forward to selling the armour off your corpse." Pyre laughed in jest.

"Another day, Pyre." the Charr known as Roan replied, glad to see his warband still alive. "The Flamemaster is nearby. His Guardsman possesses the key to the temple of the inner sanctum."

"Very good," replied Pyre, as he unshackled his brother in arms. "Soon they will learn that these new gods of theirs are false when we send them to the afterlife."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Gwen, approaching them.

"The inner sanctum is nearby." Roan said, throwing his chains to the ground and retrieved his weapon from a nearby weapons rack.

"Was Roan the last one?" asked Kyte, unsheathing his blades.

"Yes." Pyre replied. "We venture forward for the Flamemaster now, and _kill _him."

"At least I'll get to bury my blade into _some_ Charr tonight." Gwen said.

"You will get your fill, little mouse." Pyre growled in reply. "But first we need the key."

The group headed deeper into the caverns, where they encountered several more Charr patrols, but it was nothing they could not handle. Through Roan's directions, they arrived at the final gate to the inner sanctum, and sure enough, as Roan had stated before, the Flamemaster's Guardsman stood in their path.

"I heard intruders had infiltrated the cathedral, but I wasn't expecting _you_, Pyre." the Guardsman said, strolling forwards and brandishing two large twin axes from his back.

"Just toss the key to the sanctum, and we'll make your death less painful." Pyre spat, but the Guardsman merely laughed.

"And you travel with these meat!" he roared, indicating to Kyte and Gwen. "How low you have sunk, Pyre. You are not worthy to stand before the Gods any longer."

"You're gods are false," said Pyre, setting an arrow on his bow. "but you'll find that out soon enough."

"Come, Pyre Fierceshot! Show me what you've got!" the Guardsman roared, opening his arms in a taunt. Pyre responded by firing an arrow straight for his enemy's heart, but it did not reach its target. The Guardsman simply waved his axe in front of him, shattering the arrow. Gwen was the next to attack. She bolted forwards impatiently, leaping into the air with her blade high over her head. She came crashing down with a _clang_, her blade meeting the twin axes in a shower of sparks.

"Gwen, no!" Kyte cried out. "We need to take him together!"

But it was too late. As soon as Gwen struck the first blow, the Guardsman activated his trap. A wall of fire erupted in around them, encircling Gwen and the Guardsman within it.

"Gwen!" Kyte called out, but the hot flames held him back. None of them could get through. "Pyre, help me!"

"There is nothing we can do." replied Pyre, shaking his head. "These flames have magical properties. The only way they can be put out is if the caster dies."

"But-"

"The little mouse is on her own for now."

Gwen turned backed off and examined the flames that imprisoned her within its walls. Her friends were not going to be able to assist her this time. She was alone. She turned back to her enemy, the Charr Axemaster, who was twirling his large weapons in his furry paws.

"This trap was intended for Pyre," he grinned. "but killing a human is just as rewarding."

"You won't even touch me." Gwen said confidently, holding her blade out in a defensive stance.

"You despise the Charr, yet you travel with four of them?" the Guardsman questioned.

"Believe me, if it were up to me, your kind would all be dead."

"I will let you know one thing today, meat." the Guardsman said. "You will not get past me."

Gwen said nothing, and instead charged forward for an attack. Rage filled her mind, but she knew if she wanted to survive this battle to the death, she would have to focus her mind and concentrate, just like Captain Langmar had taught her. She thrust her blade in a flurry of various attacks, hoping to dodge past her enemy's defence, but the Charr remained solid. She backed off and waited, hoping he would begin the next assault. Her plan worked, the Charr bounded after her, swinging his axes wildly, hoping his attacks would somehow land a hit, but she knew how to defend herself against the Charr, she had been training to do so since she joined the Ebon Vanguard. Her fighting style was bred to fight Charr. The Guardsman roared and threw one of his axes down, but Gwen back-flipped out of the way, and the weapon struck the ground, burying itself in the hard ground. Seeing her chance, Gwen rushed forward and launched herself into the air by using her enemy's disabled weapon. The Charr attempted to strike at her in the air with his other axe, but Gwen's fluid motions made her untouchable. She landed on her enemies back and without hesitation, plunged her weapon into his back. The Charr groaned in pain and slumped to the ground with the blade still buried deep inside. As if on cue, the circle of flames vanished in an instant. The party rushed forward and saw Gwen standing over the Guardsman's dead body, holding out a large gold key in her hand.

"You alright?" Vekk asked. "I have some consumables if you're injured…"

"I'm fine Vekk." replied Gwen, giving him a small smile. "I didn't have to rely on any magic that time. Just the skills Captain Langmar taught me."

"You did well, little mouse." Pyre said, strolling over to examine the Guardsman's dead body.

"Now you know what I am capable of." Gwen said, a hint of a threat in her voice, but Pyre pretended he had not heard what she had just said, and instead proceeded to hold a hand out for the key, which Gwen reluctantly handed over.

"Once we enter the sanctum, there is no turning back." Roan said, heading to the gate with his brothers.

"We didn't come this far to back out now." said Kyte, joining them.

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" said Ogden, shaking his head. As Pyre inserted the key and turned, a series of _clicks_ could be heard and the door began to slide open slowly. The group entered the sanctum, a large, open square room with an alter at the far end. Many Charr surrounded the room, but it was two large constructs which Gwen assumed to made of many pieces of steel and wood.

"Your reign is over, Flamemaster!" Pyre cried out as the party approached the alter. Within an instant of hearing his voice, every Charr in the room had drawn their weapons in attack, but the Flamemaster simply held up a hand to halt them.

"It was a brave thing for you to come here, Pyre Fierceshot." Flamemaster Maultooth replied, not bothering to turn and face them.

"We will tear this cathedral to the ground, and you along with it."

"The Gods are not in your favour tonight, Fierceshot." Maultooth growled, finally turning to face his opponents.

"Your gods are false!" shouted Gwen menacingly.

"You dare?" Maultooth spat, turning his attention to Gwen. "A mere human dares to question the new Gods?"

"You should have killed us when you had the chance." Pyre said. "We won't make the same mistake."

In one fluid motion, Pyre raised his bow and fired an arrow straight into one of the Charr Guards, killing him instantly. Maultooth suddenly roared in anger and raised a fist.

"You're pathetic excuse for a party has no chance against me!" he cried out. "You should have sent an army! Prepare for your demise, worms! Release the effigies!"

The party turned to see the two large constructs come to life with a breath of fire. They took their first step forward and Gwen felt the ground shake beneath them.

"By the Great Dwarf!" Ogden cried out. "How are we supposed to beat _that_?"

The effigies sent out a deafening roar that echoed off the walls of the sanctum and caused the party to drop to their knees, shielding their ears. The first effigy raised a large flaming fist and attempted to bring it down upon the group, but Cowl was quick to defend and raised a Ward to protect them from harm.

"My ward will not hold for long!" he cried out. "Go!" Upon his orders, the group scattered and went their different ways, hoping to throw the effigies off. Gwen ran left, cutting down several attacking Charr in her path. Compared to the effigies, the Charr were just a hindrance. Gwen managed to gain protection from a large pillar just as one of the effigies shot a wave of fire in her direction.

"Great, they have in-built flamethrowers as well." she groaned. If she could get behind one of the constructs, should could figure out how to take it down. Across the room, she saw Kyte and Vekk seeking shelter from the flames as well, while their four Charr allies were still under Cowl Fiercetongue's protective ward. Seeing her chance, Gwen sprinted from her hiding place and raced around behind one of the effigies. Mustering all her strength, she slashed at the heel of the construct, hoping that it would at last do some damage, but all it did was anger the construct more. The effigy turned around and roared, before raising its foot and stomping the ground hard. Gwen felt the shockwave and fell to the ground, unable to move. She was vulnerable to attack, and the effigy knew that. It raised a hand to strike, but someone had climbed atop its back and began to attack it at its head. Gwen looked up to see Pyre Fierceshot firing multiple arrows into the effigy's head, hoping that any spot he hit would be a vital one.

"Vekk, assist me here!" Kyte called out, raising his blade. Vekk nodded and began to infuse Kyte's blade with his air magic, creating a weapon covered in electrical energy. Kyte bolted forward and slashed upward, hacking through the effigy's left leg. The construct roared and fell forward, collapsing in a heap before them. Cowl Fiercetongue then ran forwards and cast a an icy prison around the construct, freezing it and dousing its flames.

"One down, one to go!" Pyre shouted, jumping off the effigy and looking over to the second one. The second effigy was struggling with the Charr, who were attempting to keep it under control. The effigy roared and unleashed an inferno, searing and roasting several Charr alive.

"Fools." Seer muttered. "They can't even control it themselves."

"You guys take the effigy." Pyre said. "Maultooth is mine." and he headed towards the alter, where the Flamemaster Maultooth was attempting to flee.

"Leaving so soon, Flamemaster?" Pyre asked, holding up his bow, an arrow strung in.

"It was foolish of you to face me alone, Fierceshot." Maultooth grunted. "I will kill you here and now, and you will realise that your efforts were all in vain."

"Bring it on." Pyre replied. He threw his bow aside and lunged forward, fangs and claws bared. Maultooth did the same, and the two Charr met in fierce close combat.

Elsewhere, the group fought the second effigy with great difficulty. The construct let loose a continuous wave of fire that cooked anyone who got too close.

"We need to take out that arm." Cowl muttered, regrouping with the party.

"That's obvious." replied Gwen. "The question is how?"

"Create a diversion." Seer suggested. "Cowl can protect you with a ward, and Roan can heal you should you hurt yourself."

"What are you going to do?" asked Kyte.

"You, I, and the little mouse will go round the back and attack from there." Seer replied. "The effigy will turn on us, and that will give Cowl a chance to restrain it with his water magic."

"What are we waiting for?" asked Gwen. The three of them snuck off to the side, while Vekk, Ogden, Cowl and Roan attempted to gain the effigy's attention. It worked, and the construct began to attack them continuously, but Cowl's ward seemed to protect them.

"Cowl cannot keep that ward up for long." Seer said.

"Already on it." Gwen said, springing forward to attack the effigy's legs. Kyte followed and began to hack furiously at the other leg. The effigy roared and rounded on the group of three. Cowl saw his chance and began to chant a long incantation while Roan, Ogden and Vekk defended him against oncoming Charr. The effigy struck out with its arm, but being so big and clumsy, the group were able to avoid the attack, and move in to strike again.

"My mind magic won't work against this!" Gwen muttered, frustrated.

"Don't worry about that, just keep its attention on us!" Kyte replied, jumping back several paces to avoid a swipe from the effigy's large hand. Seer was calling upon the power of the spirits using Ritualist magic and using that power to attack the effigy. The construct had had enough and reached for Seer, firmly grasping him with a giant hand. Seer roared in pain as the effigy gripped him tighter. His arms and legs were bound and he was unable to move.

"Damn it!" Kyte yelled out in frustration. The effigy brought the struggling Charr to his mouth, where a furnace was burning. Suddenly, several magical chains rose up from the ground and bound themselves around the large construct, dragging it to the ground. Seer was freed from the effigy's grasp and landed on the stone floor, catching his breath. Over the other end of the hall, Gwen had cast illusionary chains to bound the construct temporarily.

"Gwen, can you hold it?" asked Kyte.

"Barely!" she cried back, her body already straining from the energy being used. At last, Cowl's spell was completed. A powerful icy wind swept over the effigy and froze it solid, the fire in its belly finally dying down to a sliver before going out completely. Gwen gave a huge sigh and dropped to her knees, spent. It wasn't over yet. She looked over to the shrine, where she saw Pyre Fierceshot in brutal combat with the Flamemaster Maultooth. The young Charr appeared to have the upper hand, but the Flamemaster was clearly toying with him. Deciding that he had had enough, Maultooth backhanded Pyre across the face, sending him flying down the shrine steps and onto the stone cold floor.

"The time of your reckoning has come, Pyre, son of Vaatlaw." Maultooth grunted. "Your friends cannot help you now." he bared his claws and roared before leaping from the top of the shrine towards Pyre for one last strike.

"Pyre!" Kyte called out, tossing a dagger towards his ally. Pyre grasped the weapon just in time and thrust it deep into the chest of the attacking Flamemaster, mid-air. Maultooth's eyes widened as the weapon sunk into his heart and his life came to a bitter end. Pyre threw the body aside like it was nothing and stood tall above his victorious win.

"May you see now that your gods mean nothing." he grunted. Without another word, the group turned and departed for the surface in silence.

x x x x

"You have freed my warband." Pyre said finally, when they reached Doomlore Shrine. The morning light peaked over the horizon and trickled through the trees as they regrouped with Gron and Bonwor.

"A deal is a deal." said Kyte.

"He's probably got no use for us now." said Gwen sourly. "Watch, he's going to turn on us now that he got what he wanted."

"You have little faith, girl. I made a bargain, and I shall honour it." replied Pyre. He turned to Gron who was dragging along another Charr by the throat. "Gron, what have you got for me?"

"You missed this one the first time through." he said, throwing the intruder to the dirt before Pyre. "You're getting sloppy."

"You and your pets will pay for this, Fierceshot." the intruder growled menacingly.

"I would not say such things if I were in your position, Torg Bloodspine." said Pyre, standing over him. "Now tell me, where are the human captives?"

"Hah!" the intruder Torg laughed. "What makes you think I will tell you, a traitor to our people?"

"I'll hobble you. I'll stake you out in the harsh sun. Make you bleed until you beg for death's embrace. Then I'll hand you over to the girl here. She enjoys torturing Charr like you."

"Just give me half a chance." muttered Gwen. Torg Bloodspine glanced from Pyre to Gwen and gave a long pause, before finally revealing the information.

"The meat… the humans… they are in the south, in Sacnoth Valley. The Hierophant intends to feed them to our new gods."

"Those are _not gods_." Kyte said between his teeth.

"Do you think we care?" questioned Torg. "What matters is that the others think they are."

"I know the valley he speaks of." said Pyre, turning to Kyte. "Have you heard enough?"

"More than enough."

"Then release me." pleaded Torg. "I will head north, away from here. I want no part in your petty vengeance."

"You forget." with a single motion, Pyre launched an arrow from his bow that caught Torg Bloodspine in the throat, killing him instantly. "_You _are a part of my petty vengeance."

Gwen stared in horror at what had just happened before her very eyes. It had been a brutal display of what the Charr were truly like not just to others, but to their own kind as well. Hearing about it was one thing, but to witness it… Gwen's shock soon turned to anger and she strode towards Pyre, her fists tightly clenched.

"You killed him!" she cried out. "Even when he told you everything he knew!"

"Why are you so surprised?" asked Pyre, not even raising an eyebrow. "I thought I did you a favour."

"That was a cowards act!"

"He tried to bargain from a position of weakness." said Pyre, turning to face the young girl. "He was a _fool._"

"You are savage, cowardly creatures!" Gwen shouted back.

"You know nothing of my people." said Pyre, and he, with his warband turned and walked the other way.


	8. Warband

**Chapter Eight: ****Warband**

It had been several days since Pyre and his warband, alongside Gwen and her group of friends, had journeyed back from the underground cathedral in order to spring Pyre's warband brothers from captivity. They had learned that the Hierophant Burntsoul intended to sacrifice Captain Langmar and the Ebon Vanguard to their new gods, the Destroyers. Which each passing day, Gwen felt more and more restless. They had a few more days before the ritual was to begin, according to the information Pyre and his warband had recovered, but even still, which each passing moment that she left her friends, her _family_, in captivity, she felt responsible.

The group had spent the last several days preparing for their assault. the siege and attack of the Hierophant's stronghold was no easy feat, and Pyre made sure that each and every one of them understood that. He managed to construct a layout of the stronghold that they were planning on attacking: a heavily armoured camp with archers lining the walls, and the only way in was through the front gate. Gwen was not convinced that all ten of them could defeat an entire army, but she was willing to try anything to help her friends. Today was apparently the last day they had to gather the resources they needed in order for the attack. Seer Fiercereign was going to train Gwen's party in how to handle and control a Siege Devourer, Gron Fierceclaw made a request for them to meet him outside in Dalada Uplands, where he needed help in taming an armoured saurus, and Bonwor Fierceblade intended to train them in Charr combat, so that they could better handle themselves on the battlefield.

"Gwen," Vekk called out to her as he approached, strapping on his pack. "time to go." Gwen responded with a simple nod and followed the small asura out of Doomlore Shrine and into the harsh sunlight that rained down on Dalada Uplands. Kyte and Ogden were already outside with Seer Fiercereign.

"Alright, like I told you before, I'm going to teach you humans about how to handle a Siege Devourer safely." Seer began, once they had all gathered. "One thing to remember is that Siege Devourers are not just tools to be used. They are living creatures. If you handle one incorrectly, you could very well lose your arm in the process."

With those words spoken, Seer led the party out towards the forest area, where he had several Siege Devourers mounted and ready for use. The party practiced for hours, aiming and shooting carefully placed targets with the devourers. What Seer had said was right; taming a devourer was no easy feat. They were large creatures, but they were taught how to manage and control them correctly.

"These devourers will be vital in protecting us during the assault." explained Seer, after hours of tiring practice and training. It was nearly noon, and they had been up since dawn. "We've trained enough, take a break, and go meet Gron out in the plains."

Gwen took a deep breath and sighed a big sigh of relief, seeking shade beneath a nearby tree. Kyte joined her soon after, planting himself down next to her.

"I'm impressed." he grinned.

"What do you mean?" she asked, after taking a swig of water from her canister.

"You took Seer's orders without complaint." replied Kyte, drinking from his own container. "Him being a Charr and all, I'm just surprised."

"Well, the only light at the tunnel for me is seeing Captain Langmar's face when this is all over."

"I'd like to see her face when she realises you've been working with a Charr." laughed Kyte, and Gwen gave a small chuckle in response.

"The only thing I care about is getting them home safely." she said.

"You know my journey isn't over once we rescue your people." said Kyte. "Vekk, Ogden and I are moving on to the north, to see if we can talk to norn into joining our fight against the Destroyers."

"I know." replied Gwen, looking down at her feet. She knew that once Kyte had helped her rescue her friends, he would be leaving. She didn't know how she felt about that yet, her feelings were all over the place right now.

"We'll still see each other." he said. "I'll come back when all this is all over. I promise."

Gwen said nothing, and simply nodded. The only good thing she had as a child was going away, and she knew now, that she didn't want him to go. Not yet. Not when everything seemed so… right.

"Kyte, I-" but she was interrupted when Ogden and Vekk approached them, all ready and packed.

"We better go see Gron now." said Vekk. "Keeping a Charr waiting is not really wise."

"Agreed." said Kyte, getting to his feet. Gwen nodded in response and got to her feet, ready to move out.

Gron wasn't too far away from the forest, and it took them only minutes to reach him at the forest's edge. He acknowledged their arrival with a curt nod, and turned back to look at the wide open plains that lay before them. Gwen hadn't really thought about it, but she now realised how truly beautiful Dalada Uplands was. She hadn't expected the homelands of the Charr to be so lush and green.

"What exactly are we doing?" asked Ogden, looking around.

"We need an armoured saurus." Gron replied, pointing ahead to a small herd of large, dinosaur-looking creatures. They were black and grey and covered in a heavy natural shell, with several horns protruding from its head. "We're going to tame one, and send it to the front gate, where it's going to use those deadly horns to break down the fortress gates."

"And how exactly are we going to tame this creature?" asked Ogden, who was clearly very hesitant.

"One of us has to get on its back and bring it to submission." Gron replied simply.

"That's it?" asked Gwen.

"The rest of us will distract it, and keep its attention on us." Gron continued. "Let's go, and watch out for those horns, they'll punch a hole in you the size of my head."

"Very reassuring." Ogden muttered under his breath. The group carefully approached the herd, careful not to do anything to startle them and send them charging.

"Who's going to be the one to attempt to tame it?" whispered Gwen.

"Since you asked, little mouse, you can do it." Gron replied, smirking.

"Good luck." Kyte grinned, edging forward. Gwen cursed under her breath and branched away from the group as they moved closer to the nearest (and biggest, Gwen thought) armoured saurus. The chosen beast was a male, and the leader of the pack. He snorted and grazed the grassy ground with his left leg, letting his approaching enemies know he was ready to charge.

"Careful…" muttered Gron, slowly drawing a throwing knife from his belt. Then, in a split second, he threw the knife, where it hit the top of the armoured saurus's head with a _clang_, and bouncing off. The beast roared and charged for the four of them, his head bowed and horns pointed forwards.

"Scatter!" shouted Gron, making a dive to the left, just as the armoured saurus raced passed him, narrowly missing. Kyte, Ogden and Vekk each took their own paths, running wildly across the plain. The armoured saurus howled again and bolted after the dwarf.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" he shouted, running as fast as his stumpy legs would carry him. Gwen, peering over from the large boulder she was hiding behind, saw the beast charge after the dwarf and bolted after it, tailing her target.

"Ogden, keep running!" she cried out.

"By the Great Dwarf, what do you _think_ I'm trying to do?" he shouted back. The armoured saurus was starting to gain on him, and he was beginning to tire. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the creature, momentarily distracting him, but doing no damage due to the thick hide of the saurus. The beast halted its charge and turned around to the asura, who had cast the spell, and began charging for him instead.

"Not good." Vekk muttered to himself, before turning and running himself. The sudden stop of the creature gave Gwen the opportunity to catch up, and she leapt up onto the armoured saurus's back, firmly grasping the two large horns on its back for control. The creature, realising that there was something on top of him, howled and stopped and began to shake uncontrollably, hoping to throw whoever was sitting on top of him. Gwen shook violently, and held on for dear life.

"Grab the horn on its head and pull up!" barked Gron from behind.

"Easier said than done!" cried Gwen, struggling not to be launched into the air. Making a split second decision, Gwen used the momentum to bump herself forward and grasped the horn on the beast's head. She pulled with all her might and the beast roared loudly before it seemly began to calm down. After several minutes, the armoured saurus's rage died down and it stood still, bowing its head to graze on the grass.

"I'm impressed, little mouse." said Gron, approaching the beast and hooking a chain around its neck. "I was sure you were going to die."

Gwen gave a sarcastic smile and dismounted, taking a moment to collect he bearings after suffering that shaky ordeal. Kyte walked up to her and brought her in for a tight hug, laughing a little as he did.

"Well done." he praised, smiling. She gave him a smile of relief back, and they walked back towards to Doomlore Shrine with the rest of the group and the armoured saurus in tail.

By the time they arrived back at the Shrine, it was nearly sundown. The rest of the Charr warband was waiting for them when they got back.

"You managed to get the armoured beast!" Pyre said as they approached.

"You can thank the little mouse." said Gron, nodding to Gwen. "She's the one who tamed it."

"Well, I underestimated you." said Pyre, turning to face her.

"A lot of people do." she replied simply.

"We have one more thing we need to educate you on." Bonwor said, stepping forwards. "If you want to survive against the Hierophant's forces, you must learn how to fight Charr."

"I _know_ how to fight Charr." said Gwen. "I've killed many."

"You may think you know, mouse, but you have no idea." said Bonwor. "The stronghold's troops fight in formation, it will be like nothing you have ever faced."

"Really." scoffed Gwen, turning away. She didn't need to hear this. She had fought Charr her whole life, she knew how to take care of herself. It was the Charr who need to watch out for _her_.

"Charr formations are powerful in combat," Bonwor continued, ignoring Gwen. "they are difficult for the weak and uninformed to break. You must be neither in the coming battle."

"What do you suggest?" asked Kyte.

"My warband and I are going to fight you in live combat." Bonwor replied. "And you will try and break us."

"The chance to fight Charr?" asked Gwen, perking up. "Now _this_ is my kind of training."

"I'm eager to see what you can do, mouse." Bonwor said, drawing his sword. Beside him, his brothers in arms drew their weapons, preparing to fight. Gwen and her allies drew their weapons as well, and stood ready for battle.

Gwen was the first to attack. She bolted forward, her blade outstretched, poised to strike. But she had underestimated her enemy. The warband of Charr predicted her attack, and combined their skills to fend her off. She hit the ground sooner than she realised with Bonwor's blade pointed at her neck.

"Too easy." he growled. Gwen gritted her teeth and rolled to the side, getting to her feet to recover her composure. This time, she waited for her allies to back her up before she pounced. With Seer locked as her target, she ran forwards, hoping to at least land a hit, but Gron was there, and he caught her off guard, sending her crashing to the ground once more, a dagger at her throat. Gwen was beginning to get frustrated. She had clearly bitten off more than she could chew, and it annoyed her. She didn't lose to Charr. _Ever_.

"Formations are only as strong as their weakest link!" Bonwor cried out. "Focus your attacks, pick a single target and break the formation!"

Hearing these words, Gwen gathered her allies behind her and targeted their weakest opponent: Roan. The healer was always the most vulnerable in a party, having to focus their healing powers on their allies as well as themselves. With her allies backing her up, she raced for Roan, who was located at the back of the formation, behind all the others. Kyte, Ogden and Vekk branched off to distract the other members of the warband, keeping them occupied. Kyte engaged his enemy, with Vekk and Ogden backing him up, and Gwen saw her opportunity. She sent out a flurry of sword strikes, disarming Bonwor and knocking him to the ground, before diving forwards and taking out Roan, finishing by holding her weapon to the Charr's throat.

"Not bad." Bonwor said, getting to his feet. "You now understand the basic strategy." Gwen said nothing as she released Roan and sheathed her blade.

"How did we do?" asked Kyte.

"Well." said Bonwor. "But you are still have a long way to go. We will practice until we get this right, and until the training is seared into your brains."

The warband and Gwen's party trained all night, practicing different tactics and strategies that they could use to combat a Charr formation. Once Bonwor was happy with the result, they called it a night and looked to get some rest. Gwen and her friends set up camp several feet away from where the Charr were resting. Despite them working together, there was still some tension between them, mostly fears that one of them would slaughter them in their sleep. Gwen lay down next to the fire and looked up to the night sky, which was glittering with stars. In a matter of moments, she could hear Ogden's snores and Vekk's heavy breathing, indicating that the two of them have already fallen asleep. Kyte came up and lay beside her, star gazing with her.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" he asked softly.

"Very." she whispered back. "I've never seen the night sky so clear before."

"Me neither."

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Gwen, rolling over to face him.

"Anything."

"Do you… remember anything about my mother?"

"I remember her kindness, her willingness to help." said Kyte. "I remember her nursing me back to health after my accident. I remember she loved you very much."

"I don't remember much of my life in Lakeside County." Gwen replied, turning back to look at the stars. "I don't know if it's because I was too young, or because my life under the Charr made me forget everything else before that."

"Trauma can have some pretty terrible effects."

"I just… remember a face." she continued. "a beautiful face."

"Your mother loved you Gwen." said Kyte. "The day you were taken, I made a promise to her that I would find you, and bring you back to her. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it."

"You know I don't blame you for that."

"I know, but that was the last time I saw Sarah." Kyte said. "After that, the Searing happened." Gwen said nothing, but reached her hand over to hold his in a tight grip. He turned to look at her and she smiled.

"You found me eventually." she whispered. Kyte pulled her closer, and she rested her head on his chest. They simply lay in silence and fell asleep in each other's arms.


	9. Rescue

**Chapter Nine: ****Rescue**

For the couple of days, Pyre's warband continued to train Gwen and her allies until they had the training and skills memorised. They performed the same routine of Charr combat training and Siege Devourer training until Pyre and his warband were satisfied that they were ready. The plan was to attack at night, where the cover of dark would play to their advantage. The Hierophant's stronghold already had two Siege Devourers located in front of the gates. Seer's plan was to gain control of these devourers and use it against the Hierophant's forces. With this strategy in mind, the devourers could attack the archers on the wall, and give Gron and the armoured saurus time to reach the front gate and attempt to break it down.

"Preparations are set." Pyre said, as the party gathered all their tools and belongings. "We move out in ten minutes."

"Meet you outside." Gwen said, sheathing her sword. Pyre responded with a simple nod and he and his warband exited Doomlore Shrine. Ogden and Vekk soon followed after, leaving Gwen and Kyte alone. She walked up to him and grasped his arm, pulling him around.

"Just in case we all don't get through this." and without giving him a chance to say anything, she reached up and kissed him on the lips, breaking it only moments later.

"Gwen-"

"Please don't say anything." she interrupted, smirking.

"We _are_ going to make it through this." he said, before kissing her back. "Now we're even."

"I don't-"

"We'll talk about this _after_ we rescue your people." Kyte said, interrupting her and walking out of Doomlore Shrine without another word, leaving Gwen standing alone, blushing and smiling to herself.

x x x x

The party arrived at the entrance to the Hierophant's stronghold almost an hour later, under the dead cover of the night, just as they had planned. Gron and Seer had scouted ahead, and reported back with good news.

"It's as we expected." said Gron. "Two Devourers out the front, archers lining the walls, text book defence."

"Then our plan goes ahead." said Pyre. "Bonwor?"

"We need to take care of those devourers first off." explained Bonwor. "We split up, our warband will assault the devourer on the right, I hope we can trust you to handle the other one."

"Don't worry about us." said Kyte. "We got it."

"Once we have taken the devourers, they will know we are here, so prepare to defend Gron and the armoured saurus."

"How many Charr are we talking?" asked a nervous Ogden.

"A whole battalion, short legs." Gron replied to the dwarf.

"Fantastic." Ogden said, swallowing.

"Okay, let's move out!" Bonwor said, and he and his warband snuck around the corner to approach the right devourer, where the two Charr guardsmen remained unaware. Gwen and her allies snuck around to the left to seek out the left siege devourer. The sound of two bodies falling let them know that Pyre and his warband had successfully taken out the Charr guardsmen. Upon hearing this, the two other guardsmen from the left siege devourer began to move to see what the noise was. This gave Gwen and Kyte the opportunity to sneak up behind them and take them out without a sound.

Seer Fiercereign headed over to them to make sure that they had done their job correctly, and grinned in approval when he saw the two bodies on the ground.

"Good work." he said. "Now, turn that devourer around and aim for those archers on the walls. It's going to get messy."

As soon as he said those words, a large explosion could be heard from behind them. Pyre and the rest of the warband had fired the right siege devourer, the attack crushing almost half of the archers on the right side of the wall.

"Attack now!" Seer cried out, as he ran back to assist his brothers. Gwen obeyed and used the training she had learned and controlled the devourer to aim for the archers on the left side of the wall. The devourer reared back and launched its ranged attack, the projectile hitting its targets with a deafening _bang_. The sudden attack sparked a stronghold-wide alert, and the Hierophant's army began to pool outside the front gate, using the teleportation devices located at the top of the fortress walls.

"Defend those devourers!" Bonwor shouted. "Keep attacking those archers!"

Gwen drew her sword and prepared for battle, her friends backing her up and doing the same. The teleportation devices continued to warp in new troops, before the Charr attacked. There were many, but these Charr were low-level grunts, nothing they couldn't handle as a team. Gwen swung her blade in circles around her, deflecting and parrying any attacks that the enemy threw at her. She swept low, hacking at the Charr's feet, knocking them to the ground before finishing them off with a strike to the heart. She looked back to see that her allies were handling themselves quite well, and turned back to eliminate several Charr engineers who were attempting to gain back control of the siege devourer.

"Vekk!" she called over to the asura, who had just fried a Charr swordsman with a devastating lightning spell. "Gron is about to move in with the armoured saurus, cover him!"

The asura nodded in reply and departed the battle in search for Gron, who was leading the armoured saurus through the centre corridor and towards the front gate. Vekk caught up with them and jumped atop the armoured saurus's back, casting his spells from there, repelling any enemy that dared approach them. Gron protected the both of them with a large shield, deflecting any stray arrows that rained down upon them.

Elsewhere, Gwen, Ogden and Kyte continued to hold back the large amount of Charr forces that were attempting to converge on their position. Ogden had cast an protective shield around them and the devourer, shielding them from any projectile attacks, allowing them to focus on the soldiers that were attacking them on the ground. As soon as she cut down two more Charr, she looked over to the right side of the battlefield and saw that Pyre and his warband were struggling. A considerably larger force had been sent out to eliminate them, and they were having a hard time holding back the line.

"Ogden, Kyte, can you handle these guys?" she asked, falling back to join her allies. "Our Charr allies aren't doing so well over there."

"You, offering to help the Charr?" asked Kyte, bewildered. "That's a first."

"If they fall, we fall, and I'm not going to let us die out here." she replied.

"Go, we got this." Kyte said, throwing a kick into an oncoming Charr's groin, sending him to the ground I agony. Gwen gave them a quick nod in response and left them to defend the left devourer, and raced across the battlefield to assist Pyre and his warband. She mustered up her energy, and her eyes flashed violet, before she thrust her palm forward, sending out a powerful telekinetic wave that knocked all incoming Charr off their feet and to the ground.

"Am I glad to see you, mouse." growled Pyre.

"If I had the option, I'd probably let you die." Gwen replied, not even giving him a glance.

"Always a charmer."

"Cut the chatter!" Bonwor interrupted, throwing his massive sword down upon an attacking Charr Shaman. Gwen continued to use her magic and spells to disable her enemies, interrupt their spells, and cripple their attacks. Pyre's warband took these opportunities to mow down the distracted enemies with pure ease.

"How's Gron doing?" she asked.

"See for yourself!" Pyre replied, pointing to the armoured saurus at the front gate. Vekk continued to blow back any ground enemies that attempted to get near the armoured saurus, while Gron used his incredible accuracy to throw daggers at the archers atop the fortress walls, eliminating any strays that avoided the siege devourer's attacks.

"It's nearly done!" he cried out. With one final push, the armoured saurus broke through the heavy barricade blocking the front gate, sending the doors crashing to the ground in a heap of rubble. "We're through!"

The call rang out to all his allies, and they immediately began to push forwards, forcing the Charr back while moving towards the front gate. The Hierophant's forces responded in turn and began to retreat deeper into the fortress. The archers left the walls and the remaining forces left on the battlefield were slaughtered by Gwen and her allies. When they had reached the front gate, most if not all of the Charr had been eliminated, and their bodies littered the battlefield.

"Any casualties?" asked Seer, counting the numbers.

"None." said Gwen.

"I'm impressed." said Bonwor. "You took our training well."

"It certainly helped." said Kyte.

"What's our next move?" asked Gwen, walking through the front gates and examining her surroundings.

"We go for the Hierophant." replied Pyre, stringing an arrow into his bow. "And we take the son of a bitch down."

"Sounds good."

"Let's move, the ritual could begin any moment now that the Hierophant knows we're here."

The group moved forwards into the stronghold, encountering no other enemy on their way to the back of the fortress, but they were careful not to let their guard down. They were behind enemy lines now, and they had to be on the lookout.

"Trespassers, you have _no _place here." a voice said from ahead. The group halted as a battalion of Charr appeared before them, carrying flame torches and wielding fairly impressive weapons.

"The Hierophant's elite band of Charr." grunted Pyre. "He finally had the balls to send you to clean up his dirty work, did he?"

"Pyre Fierceshot, you are a traitor to the Charr race." the leader of the elite warriors spoke. "You and your brethren will perish here tonight."

"Why don't you stop talking and use that big sword of yours?" Gwen taunted. The elite warrior, who had apparently not noticed her there, turned to her and growled, bearing his fangs.

"Foolish girl." he breathed. "You will suffer a more painful death at the hands of our new gods."

"You're the fool." she replied simply. "Your new 'gods' will kill you all."

"We will not allow you to use such blasphemy in this place!" the elite warrior roared, raising his weapon with his companions did the same in unison. In response, Gwen and her allies drew their weapons. There was a moment's pause, before both sides charged one another. They met with a _clang_ of metal and sparks flying. This fight wasn't as easy as the Charr they had faced outside on the battlefield. These Charr were elites, specially trained for special armed combat, and deadly to any that came across them. This is where Bonwor's combat training would test how much they had learned, and how much they had practiced. Each of them had engaged their own foe, and Gwen was struggling to catch hers off guard. She parried and struck forward, her sword glancing off her enemy's large two-handed axe. The Charr elite roared as it raised the axe and brought it down, Gwen only just managing to jump out of the way before the heavy weapon crashed into the ground, sending bits of rock and dirt into the air. She wished she could use some of her spells to assist her in battle, but the battle outside had drained most of her energy, and it was going to be a while before she could cast anything. She had to rely solely on her combat training to get through this fight. She moved into a different form of fighting style, a more aggressive and powerful one. Her attacks pushed her enemy back, forcing them to defend and unable to get any sort of attack in. Because her enemy was so big and bulky, and his weapon was so large, he moved slow and carelessly. Gwen thrust her blade forwards and caught the Charr elite's right hand, severing the joint between the hand and the wrist. He roared in pain and dropped his weapon, unable to hold it any longer due to him losing the use of his hand. Gwen gave no hesitation as she took control of the fight, burying her blade deep into her enemy's throat and killing him instantly.

"I hate the Charr." she muttered to herself, panting heavily and wiping the sweat from her brow. She looked back to see her allies slowly taking care of their own opponents. Soon, the group had surrounded themselves with the dead bodies of the Hierophant's Elite force.

"There should be nothing between us and the Hierophant now." said Pyre, kicking one of the dead bodies to make sure it was truly dead.

"Seer, you and the rest of the warband head back outside and make sure no one escapes through the front gate." Bonwor said, turning to his brother. "We don't want any strays escaping."

Seer, Roan and Cowl acknowledged their orders and departed for the front gate, while the rest of them moved forward to confront the Hierophant Burntsoul. Gwen looked forward to the moment when she could look into the Hierophant's eyes and take his life from him, just like how he took her friends and family away from her. The group found themselves in a circular arena, surrounded by flame torches and many Charr. In the centre was a pit, and inside the pit, Gwen could see her friends, alongside other sacrifices, such as Charr.

"They're inside!" she said, making a move forwards, but Pyre held her back and shook his head. Inside, Gwen knew he was right. Rushing in was not going to help the situation.

"Hierophant Burntsoul." Pyre Fierceshot declared, as he entered the arena. Every eye in the vicinity turned to face them, eyeing them like they were lambs to the slaughter.

"So the trespassers made it this far." the Hierophant replied, turning to face them with a menacing grin. "I'm disappointed that my Elite band of warriors didn't have the skill to take you out. Good talent these days is hard to find."

"We're here to kill you." Pyre said bluntly, raising his bow and aiming it at the Hierophant.

"You cannot kill me, not while our new gods protect us."

"The Destroyers are your enemies too," said Kyte. "They'll kill you all."

"I will happily die at their hands, pathetic human." Hierophant Burntsoul spat. "But you will not win on this night."

"When we walk away from this, you're going to wish you killed us instead of locking us up." said Pyre, and with those words, he release the arrow in his bow. The projectile soared forwards, but the Hierophant simply held up a hand and the arrow burnt up in mid-flight.

"Playtime is over!" the Hierophant roared. "Release the Destroyers!"

Several caves around the arena began to open up, and Gwen saw several insect-like creatures with flaming hearts emerge from the shadows. The Destroyers shrieked and attacked, cutting down the Charr in its path.

"Prepare yourselves!" Pyre cried out, drawing another bow from his quiver. Gwen and her allies raised their weapons in defence and stood back-to-back. They continued to watch as the Destroyers slaughtered the Charr around them, without any kind of effort. The Hierophant Burntsoul, while watching his people die, approached Gwen and her allies, poised to attack. But before he could even raise his weapon, a large Destroyer swung its blade across his neck, severing his head from his body. Gwen watched as the Hierophant's head rolled away, a look of surprise still etched on his face.

The Destroyers were powerful creatures, but there were more Charr than them, and several Destroyers fell at the hands of the Charr, but considerably more Charr perished in the battle against the Destroyers.

"Can we kill them?" asked Gwen, scanning her surroundings.

"Aim for the underside of their bodies, the chest and the stomach." said Kyte. "They have no protection there."

"Got it." Pyre said. He launched two arrows from his bow simultaneously, hitting a Destroyer square in the chest, between its protective hide. The attack was fatal, and the Destroyer shrieked before falling to the ground, the lava in its body cooling out and going from a burning flame to dead black. The attack encouraged the rest of them to jump forwards and attack the Destroyers, who were still pre-occupied with killing the remaining Charr warriors in the Hierophant's army. Gwen disarmed an unsuspecting Destroyer by severing the joint between its shoulder and arm, before hacking at its waist to split it in two. She moved on to waste a Destroyer who crawled on all fours, by removing its two front legs with two quick precision strikes, before driving her blade into the head of the beast. The Destroyer shrieked in agony and dropped dead. All around her, her allies continued to kill the remaining Destroyers, while the last of the Hierophant's army fell. Suddenly, she heard a cry from behind. Gron had encountered one too many Destroyers, and they were closing in on him. His left arm had been slashed, and blood was seeping from the wound. He had lost his weapon, which lay several feet away from him, unreachable. As Gwen raced to help her Charr ally, she grasped Gron's fallen weapon in her other hand, and began to wield both blades in front of her. She struck down the first Destroyer with complete ease, before moving on to the next one. With both weapons, she was able to cover all sides, and protect Gron, who was struggling to get up due to the gash he had on his right leg. However Gwen had bit off more than she could chew by taking on more than one Destroyer. These beasts were powerful, and it showed in their attack. Each hit knocked her back several paces, and she was starting to lose her balance. The Destroyer struck out once more, and her second blade flew from her hands, away from arms reach. She braced for the next attack, but at that moment, Kyte stepped in between her and her enemy, blocking the blow and thrusting his blade into the heart of the Destroyer, killing it.

"Thanks." she grinned, getting to her feet.

"Getting a bit sloppy?" he jested, before moving on to combat another Destroyer. Gwen looked over at Gron, who was now being helped by Pyre. Despite the casualties, Gwen and her allies managed to fight back the Destroyers and defeat them. When the last Destroyer fell, Gwen walked the battlefield, making sure that the beasts were truly dead. She stopped when she encountered the severed head of Hierophant Burntsoul.

"He sent himself to his own death." she whispered, just as Pyre walked over.

"He was a fool, like the rest of them." said Pyre. Suddenly, Gron's voice was heard over the battlefield, as the Charr and human prisoners were freed from the sacrificial pit.

"My brothers! Pyre Fierceshot has freed you from the Hierophant's yoke!" he cried out in triumph. "Unite beneath our banner, and we shall overthrow these false priests and their false gods!"

In response, the Charr prisoners cheered and roared in victory, chanting the name of Pyre Fierceshot over and over.

"Gron, enough!" shouted Pyre, approaching the prisoners. "Warriors, do not trade one set of shackles for another! I will not lead you, but I charge all of you to spread the lesson we have learnt today: There are no gods for the Charr!"

The liberated prisoners cheered again in triumph and began to chant _'there are no gods!' _over and over, celebrating their new found freedom, and their new revolution. Gwen helped her friends free the human prisoners and embraced Captain Langmar in a tight hug when she climbed out of the pit.

"Gwen, what are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought I told you to keep watch of the eye?"

"I couldn't leave you Captain." she replied. "I couldn't leave any of you."

Captain Langmar merely smiled and hugged Gwen back. "We're glad you came."

"Did we lose any?" Gwen asked, looking at the Ebon Vanguard around her.

"Only a few, we will mourn their deaths." someone replied. Gwen turned around to see Anton standing behind her, giving her a small smile. Gwen said nothing and brought him in for a hug as well.

"It's good to see you too, Gwen." he said.

After moments of celebration and tearful reunions, Gwen introduced Captain Langmar and the Ebon Vanguard to her new allies, the warrior, the asura and the dwarf.

"We are grateful for your help." Captain Langmar acknowledged, shaking Kyte's hand.

"Anytime." said Kyte.

"It seems you had quite the adventure." Captain Langmar went on. "Gwen told me of what you went through on our behalf. Rest assured, you can count on the Ebon Vanguard's help to aid you in the future."

"Thank you Captain, we need all the help we can get to combat these Destroyers." said Kyte.

"A storm is coming." Pyre Fierceshot said, approaching them. "The Shamans will not go down easily. For a while, it will be safer to be elsewhere."

"You're the hero of this revolution." said Kyte, looking over to the celebrating Charr.

"Revolutions eat their heroes." Pyre said. "I may return in the future, but for the moment, I have made the choice to travel with you, and fight at your side, if you will have me."

"You proved that I can trust you today, Pyre. It will be an honour to have you with us."

"We will take care of things here in the Charr homelands in your absence." Captain Langmar stated, turning to Pyre. "If it means working with your people to do so, we are willing."

"I will make sure Gron knows that." Pyre said, nodding. He turned to Gwen as she came up to him.

"One good act does not redeem your people." she said to him. She was grateful for his help in rescuing her friends, but she was reluctant to tell him that. "I want you to know: I do not like you, and I still do not trust you, but most of all, I do not _fear_ you." and without giving him the chance to respond, Gwen walked the other way.

"That went well." said Kyte.

"Indeed." said Pyre. "But the mouse is learning."

x x x x

It had been a week since Gwen and her friends had rescued Captain Langmar from the Hierophant's Stronghold, and they had made their way back to the Eye of the North. Pyre Fierceshot caused some uproar when he first arrived, many of the Ebon Vanguard in the Eye preparing to strike him down on the spot, but under the orders of Captain Langmar, they left him be. Pyre had left Gron in charge of the revolution, and they remained in the Charr homelands, using Doomlore Shrine as their new base of operations. They continued to recruit as many Charr as they could, convincing them that the Shamans were false priests and that the Destroyers were a true threat, not new gods.

Gwen hadn't spoken to Kyte about their little encounter in Doomlore Shrine before the assault on the Hierophant's stronghold. She didn't know what to say to him, but mostly she was conflicted with her feelings on how she felt about him, and he was leaving in a day or two. She spent the remainder of the day avoiding him and avoiding any sort of contact with him.

"What are you doing in here alone?" Captain Langmar asked, when she walked into the Hall of Monuments to find Gwen sitting beside the scrying pool by herself.

"Just thinking." she replied.

"About your friends?"

"I guess."

"They're going to be okay." Captain Langmar reassured her, sitting down next to her.

"I know, but it's just…"

"There's something going between you and that boy, isn't there?" she asked. Gwen said nothing and simply glanced at her Captain, shrugging. "You feel something for him?"

"I don't know." Gwen said in frustration. "I haven't seen him since I was a child, and now he's back in my life and I just…"

"Gwen, if you feel something for him, you have to tell him." Captain Langmar said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Or he's going to walk out of here for who knows how long, and you probably won't see him again for a long time."

"I don't even know how I feel right now." she said, getting to her feet. "Everything is just so… confusing."

"You're going to have to decide Gwen." Captain Langmar said, heading for the door. "Make a choice."

Time continued to pass and Gwen remained in the Hall of Monuments all the way into the night. It was not until the doors to the Hall burst open that she snapped out of her thoughts. Captain Langmar, Kyte, Ogden, Vekk and Pyre strode in and headed straight for the scrying pool.

"What's going on?" she asked immediately.

"The eye has been calling Kyte." explained Captain Langmar. "I think it's ready to show him another vision."

Kyte knelt beside the scrying pool and closed his eyes, allowing the pool to find this thoughts, and show him what it wanted him to see.

"I'm getting something." he said. "These Destroyers, they're coming from underground, right?"

"Correct." answered Vekk.

"That means they're home has to be underground. A cave or something, where they all come from."

"And if we find this cave, we can seal it up." said Gwen. "Good idea, any luck?"

"I'm trying to get a specific vision…" at that moment, the pool's water began to shimmer, and an image began to appear in pool's water. A large cavern, filled with lava, surrounded by fire with a large rock formation towering over it.

"I think we've just found where they live." Captain Langmar stated, as the scrying pool's vision slowly vanished.

"Yeah, question is, where?" asked Gwen.

"That's what we got to find out." said Kyte.

"Where to now?" asked Pyre.

"We head north, to recruit the norn to join our cause."

"The norn will be a difficult people to convince." grumbled Pyre. "They are quite an independent race, highly competitive."

"We've noticed." Ogden muttered. "Ran into a few at Boreal Station."

"We'll have to do our best, nonetheless." said Kyte. "We should head out in the morning."

Everyone nodded in reply, and left the Hall of Monuments to prepare for the coming journey to the north, but Gwen remained behind, and grasped Kyte's hand as he turned to leave.

"Wait." she whispered. "About what happened… at Doomlore Shrine…"

"Gwen, it's okay." he smiled. "you did it on a whim, you thought we might not make it back alive."

"I just…"

"We'll see each other again one day." he whispered. "I'm not abandoning you again."

"I know, but I… just have so much to think about right now." was all she could say. Kyte said nothing but reached down and kissed her on the cheek.

"Just know I'll be thinking of you." he said, before turning and heading for the door, leaving Gwen standing alone, watching the man she didn't know whether she loved or not, walk away.


	10. Different Paths

**Chapter Ten: Different Paths**

It had been three days since Kyte and his companions had departed for the Norrhart Domains, seeking help from the elusive norn in their quest to conquer the Destroyers. Gwen had remained in solitude for those days, refusing to socialise or talk with anyone about how she felt, even Captain Langmar. She locked herself in the Hall of Monuments, only coming out to seek food and water, and returning to her room at night to sleep. But even then, she couldn't sleep, she was just up all night, thinking whether or not letting him go was the right choice.

"Gwen, you need to stop wasting your days on thoughts about what could have been." Captain Langmar informed her one night, finding Gwen atop the battlements of the Eye of the North.

"I loved him." she muttered under her breath. "And I just let him go."

"It's not forever."

"But what if he doesn't come back?" she asked. "What if something happens to him? I never got to tell him how I really feel."

"I'm sure he knows."

"That's not good enough."

"Listen Gwen," Langmar said. "I'm leaving in a couple of days to head back to Doomlore Shrine. I can't leave you here like this."

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't." said Langmar, turning her around to look at her in the eyes. "I want you to come with me."

"What?" asked Gwen. "No, I don't want to go back there-"

"I'm not giving you a choice, this is an order." said Langmar, cutting her off. "You need to get out of here and do something. Get your mind off things." slowly, Gwen nodded her head. There was no changing the Captain's mind. Perhaps she was right, perhaps this was going to be good for her.

x x x x

Captain Langmar, Anton, Gwen and a small Vanguard patrol were out of the Eye and heading for Dalada Uplands within the hour. They travelled through the Ice Cliff Chasms with ease, but things only got harder as they approached the border between the Chasms and Norrhart Domains. The ice beneath their feet got thicker, and it was almost too difficult to walk through.

"A storm must have hit in the past couple of days." Langmar said, kicking the snow at her feet.

"I hope Kyte's group didn't get caught up in it." said Anton. Gwen remained silent, but secretly, she had hoped the same. They had mentioned that they were heading north towards Drakkar Lake, in hopes of encountering any norn settlements.

"Once we cross into the Norrhart Domains, we should be alright." Langmar said, signalling for the patrol to move on.

"It's good to see you finally out and about." Anton said to Gwen as the continued forward towards the border.

"It's not like I had a choice." she replied, nodding towards Captain Langmar.

"You know she means well."

"I know."

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked.

"What about?"

"About letting him go?" he didn't look at Gwen as he asked the question, but she didn't reply straight away either. She wanted to avoid the question, but she knew would be asking herself the same thing. She had been doing so for the past couple of days.

"I guess so." she said finally.

"You should have gone with him, if you ask me." chuckled Anton, and Gwen just looked at him with a questioning expression. "Oh come on," he said. "I see the way you two look at each other. I thought he was pretty stupid to let you go as well."

"You think so?"

"Look Gwen, if you love him, you can't leave him." said Anton. "Trust me."

"Trust you?" she asked. "What do you mean?"

"When I was a prisoner in Surmia, I had someone I loved as well." he said. "But when the Charr invaded, and I had a chance to escape, I selfishly chose freedom over her."

"But look where you are now," said Gwen. "you're with the Ebon Vanguard now, fighting _for_ freedom."

"I would give it all up just to see her face again." he sighed. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, the past is the past. It's too late for me to change anything." he said. "But you still have a chance Gwen."

"What chance?" she muttered. "He's probably halfway to Drakkar Lake by now."

"At least you know where he is." Anton shrugged. "It's something."

"We're here." Langmar's voice rang out, interrupting Gwen's thoughts. The group had reached the border, and they crossed into the Norrhart Domains not long after. It was nearly sundown, and Captain Langmar suggested that they set up camp for the night. They sought shelter under a nearby rock formation that provided shelter and started a campfire to warm their bodies.

"What are you plans when you reach Dalada Uplands?" asked Gwen, approaching her Captain.

"Well, my first move is to head to Doomlore Shrine and seek out the Charr's revolution." Langmar replied, warming her hands next to the fire. "As much as I hate the idea of us working with Charr, we need all the numbers we can if we want to stop the Shamans from taking humans and using them as sacrifices for the Destroyers."

"Can they be trusted?"

"They helped you kill the Hierophant and the Destroyers, didn't they?" Langmar asked. "I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable working with the Charr." said Gwen. "Once was enough."

"More than half of the Vanguard agrees with you," said Langmar, shrugging. "but they understand how dire the situation is."

"I guess it can't get any worse."

"Exactly." Langmar replied. There was a moment of silence between them, before Gwen finally spoke up.

"I shouldn't have let him walk away." she whispered. Captain Langmar said nothing but placed her hand gently on Gwen's shoulder. "I just… let him go."

"You thought it was the right thing to do." said Langmar. "And you were right, he has a mission to accomplish."

"I know, but…"

"You have the option of going after him, you know."

"I wouldn't know where to begin." Gwen slumped. Even if she wanted to pursue Kyte and his party, they had several days ahead of her.

"Gunnar's Hold would be a good place to start." Langmar said. "I believe they still owe us a favour for that time we helped them escape the Charr."

The Captain was right. Several years ago, while travelling, the Ebon Vanguard had assisted an injured norn called Gunnar Poundfist in freeing his friends from captivity in a Charr camp. Gunnar had said that if they ever needed help, they could seek him out at his home.

"It's not far from here." Langmar went on. "About half a day's walk east."

"I'm not sure." said Gwen, still fighting with her emotions. Part of her wanted to go, but part of her wanted to stay. She had no idea why.

"Think about it." said Langmar, getting to her feet. "And make a decision, before it's too late."

x x x x

Morning came and Gwen roused from her sleep. The Ebon Vanguard patrol were already up and packing, getting ready to head out again. She got up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, before packing her own things. She had trouble sleeping last night, she was too busy thinking about what she wanted to do. The choice seemed so obvious, but something was holding her back.

"We move out in five." Langmar announced. The patrol acknowledged their captain's orders and they were off again soon after. The deep snow slowed their journey, but they pressed on, eager to reach their destination. Gwen barely spoke to anyone as they walked, as she was too busy playing with her own thoughts. Gunnar's Hold wasn't too far from here, she still had the option.

"Halt!" Captain Langmar said, and everyone froze. "Something's not right."

She was right, the air around them began to chill and flakes of snow began to fall from the sky. The wind slowly began to pick up and soon, a snow storm had started. They were walking blind, unable to see what was ahead. Gwen could barely hear Captain Langmar barking her orders over the howling wind. It didn't make sense, five minutes ago, the sky had been clear, then all of sudden, a snow storm kicks up? Something was not right. Gwen glanced to her left and saw a dark shadow brush past them, but only briefly. She hurried up to Captain Langmar and tried to speak over the wind.

"I saw something!" she cried out. "There's something out there!"

"What is it?" Langmar yelled back.

"I didn't get a good look!" she replied. All of a sudden, a faint cry was heard from behind them. One of the Ebon Vanguard soldiers dropped to the ground and was dragged away into the mist, not even leaving a trail.

"What the-" suddenly, soldiers began to drop and disappear, just like the first one. Something was hunting them in the storm.

"MOVE!" Langmar screamed, motioning for her patrol to move as fast as they could. Gwen stuck close to the Captain, making sure all of their group made it safely through the storm, and that no one was left behind. What could be hunting them in this weather?

"THERE!" Langmar cried out, pointing ahead to a cave, which was barely visible ahead. The surviving soldiers made their way to shelter, with Gwen, Anton and Captain Langmar on their tail. As soon as they made it under shelter and they could be heard again, panic set in.

"What in Balthazar _was_ that thing?" one of the soldiers asked. "It was picking us off one by one!"

"Did anyone get a good look at it?" asked Langmar. No one answered.

"Whatever it was, I bet it was responsible for this sudden storm." Gwen said, pointing outside.

"Whatever is going on, we'll have to wait it out." Langmar said. "This storm doesn't look like it's going to-"

All of a sudden, the wind began to die down and the storm dissipated as quickly as it had begun. The Ebon Vanguard cautiously approached the mouth of the cave, wondering whether it was safe to go outside.

"It's still incredibly misty." Anton said. "Can't see more than five feet ahead of us."

One of the Ebon Vanguard soldiers decided to be brave and step out into the mist, looking around him before attempting to signal his patrol.

"It seems safe, there doesn't seem to be any-" his words were cut short when a large figure bore down on him and clawed him right across the chest. Gwen could hear his high pitched scream as he dropped to the snow, which was now red with blood. Before them was the largest bear Gwen had ever seen, except it was no ordinary bear. This bear was black and ice-blue and stood on its hind legs, and had what Gwen could only describe as ice shards protruding out from his shoulders, elbows and back. The bear roared loudly and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"What in Balthazar was _that_?" Captain Langmar cried out. "Someone help me get him in!" she rushed over to the soldier who had been attacked and dragged him back in the cave.

"It was a bear!" someone cried out.

"Not just any bear, did you see those spikes sticking out of its body?" another asked.

"Everybody stay calm!" Langmar ordered, and the Vanguard fell silent. "We need a plan."

"What do you suggest?" asked Gwen, moving forward to stand with her Captain.

"I will head outside, as the bait." Langmar said.

"Captain, no-"

"It's the only way." she interrupted. "I'm not putting anyone else in danger."

"Then what?" asked Anton.

"We will surround it, make sure it's cornered." Langmar continued. "Then we'll kill it."

The Vanguard all agreed, and Captain Langmar prepared her equipment before slowly heading outside into the mist. She was armed with only her shield and her sword. As she trudged slowly through the snow, there was no sign of the bear. She moved deeper into the mist, until Gwen could only make out her silhouette. Then, all of a sudden, the bear was there again. It clawed at Langmar, but she threw up her shield in time, blocking the blow, but shattering her shield in the process.

"Go!" cried Anton, and all at once, the Ebon Vanguard patrol rushed out to assist their Captain in the fight. The bear roared in frustration when it realised that it was completely surrounded.

"Got you now, you bastard." Langmar muttered. She took the first swing, her sword colliding with the bear's left arm. The blade connected with one of the ice shards protruding from its elbow and rebounded, not even leaving a scratch. Stunned, Captain Langmar staggered backwards. The bear, its attention now fully on Langmar, backhanded the Captain, sending her sailing through the air and landing in the soft snow.

"Attack!" she cried out, hurrying to her feet. Her patrol charged forwards at once, blades and axes dancing in the air. But suddenly, the bear let loose a shrieking cry, which sent out a powerful shockwave, knocking anyone and everything in the opposite direction. The patrol was thrown backwards, every soldier landing on their back in the snow. Gwen, now halting her charge, simply looked at the bear, preparing for another attack, but the bear took one glance at her and snarled, before disappearing before Gwen's eyes.

x x x x

After a while, the mist began to fade away, and everything became clear again. The entire patrol were recovering from the attack, helping each other up and recovering lost equipment. Gwen was patching up Captain Langmar but putting her right arm in a sling. The ghost bear (as everyone had seemed to started calling it) had dislocated it when it backhanded her. There were no major injuries and only the one casualty. They gave the soldier a proper burial before preparing to move on.

"That roar it let out… it was no ordinary creature." Anton said, as they left the cave and continued their journey towards Dalada Uplands.

"It was definitely no ordinary bear." Langmar winced, holding her shoulder. "Whatever it was, pray we don't encounter it again."

Gwen remained silent, but wondered if Kyte and his party had encountered this creature on their way north. Where did it come from? The creature didn't appear to them the first time they travelled through the Norrhart Domains, why now? She looked to the east, and saw a pillar of smoke emitting from a large chimney. Gunnar's Hold.

"Captain," said Gwen, stopping. Langmar turned around, and saw Gwen looking east, towards Gunnar's Hold.

"You've decided to go, haven't you?" Langmar said. She had slight look of disappointment and sadness, but she was smiling.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sad to see one of my best students go, but we will see each other again." Langmar said, putting her hand on Gwen's shoulder before drawing her in for a hug. "Take care of yourself."

"I will." Gwen said, pulling away. Anton also embraced her quickly before letting her go.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't." he grinned. Gwen just smiled. She had made her decision, and she felt like this was the right one. She had lost Kyte once before, a long time ago, and she didn't want to lose him again.

"Be safe, Gwen." Langmar said, handing her some supplies. "Do you want us to send some of our soldiers with you?"

"No, no I'll be ok." she replied, looking towards Gunnar's Hold. It didn't seem like a long trek. Several hours, at least.

"Balthazar be with you." Langmar said, before she and Anton turned and followed the rest of the patrol north. Gwen watched them disappear over the hill before making her own journey to the east, for Gunnar's Hold. There, she hoped she could find information on Kyte and his party, and clues on where in Drakkar Lake he was headed, if he was indeed en route for that part of the Northern Shiverpeaks.

Gwen's journey didn't go as long as she expected. She approached the doors of Gunnar's Hold a few hours later, only to be met by two large norn warriors at the gate. They said nothing, and only nodded as she walked past them. Gunnar's Hold was a large settlement, even by norn standards. To the left of her, was a large forgery, one of the biggest she'd ever seen, and to the right, was some kind of arena, for norn combat, she assumed.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Gunnar Poundfist?" she asked the merchant behind the nearest stall.

"Certainly." he said, and pointed towards the large forgery. There, at the top near the entrance, was a norn warrior, wielding a very large hammer. He didn't even notice when Gwen approached him from behind.

"Gunnar Poundfist?" she asked curiously. The norn had changed since she last saw him. His outfit was different, and his beard was certainly a lot longer.

"Yes!" he replied, turning around, expecting another norn, but looked down only to find Gwen. "A human!"

"I was wondering if you could help me." she asked.

"I am always willing to help lost travellers!" he said, kneeling down to meet Gwen eye to eye.

"I am looking for a group that might have passed this way," she explained. "A human warrior, a dwarf, an asura and a Charr."

"Hmm…" Gunnar stroked his long beard in thought, before answering: "A group of companions as strange as that, travelling together… I'm sure I would have noticed them."

"They would have come by in the past week."

"I think-"

"I can help you find them." a voice called out from behind. Gwen turned to see a dark-skinned man walk up to them. He was wearing very unique armour, a type Gwen had never seen before. A dress was all Gwen could say to describe it.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Ah!" Gunnar said, grinning at the stranger. "This is one of our competitors in our Fighting Tournament!"

"My name is Kahmu," the man said. "and I know where you can find your friends."


	11. Contest

**Chapter Eleven: Contest**

"I know where you can find your friends." the dark-skinned man named Kahmu said to Gwen.

"They passed through here?" she asked.

"Several days ago, yes." he replied. "Then they left, accompanied by a female norn."

"Do you know where they were headed?"

"Sifhalla."

"Excuse me?"

"They were headed to Sifhalla." Kahmu said. "It's up north, in Drakkar Lake."

"So they were headed to Drakkar Lake after all." Gwen muttered. "How long will it take me to get there?"

"A few days, maybe a week, depending on weather." replied Kahmu, shrugging. "You're not planning on travelling alone, are you?"

"I don't think I have a choice."

"You do, I can come with you." he said.

"Oh no, I don't want to-"

"You cannot travel all the way to Sifhalla alone." he said, holding up a hand to silence her. "There are things out there that even you cannot face alone."

"You're willing to travel all the way to Sifhalla with me?"

"I am, but on one condition." he said with a smile. "You fight with me in the upcoming Norn Fighting Tournament."

"A tournament?" Gwen asked, bewildered. "Wait I don't think-"

"Please." Kahmu insisted. "I need a partner, and we can help each other out."

Gwen hesitated, thinking about the idea. She hadn't come to enter a tournament, she had come to seek information on finding her friends. But she didn't know the way to Sifhalla, and if what Kahmu says is true, there could be creatures out there that she couldn't handle by herself. This seemed to be her only option.

"Fine." she replied. "I'll help you."

"Fantastic." he grinned. "Follow me."

Kahmu led Gwen across the settlement, until they reached the large arena that Gwen had seen when she first entered Gunnar's Hold. It was truly big, able to accommodate what Gwen only guessed as several hundred norn, if not a thousand. Kahmu approached a large norn outside the arena and greeted him.

"We wish to enter the norn fighting tournament." he said, pointing to Gwen as well.

"Hrmph!" the norn scoffed, looking at Kahmu and then at Gwen. "Are you being serious?"

"Dead serious."

"You I'll let in, but the girl…"

"I'm not as weak as you might think." said Gwen. "What have you got to lose?" the norn simply eyed her for a moment, before giving in.

"It'll be a hundred gold per person as an entry fee." he said.

"This should cover it." Kahmu said, placing a sack of gold into the norn's large hand.

"Tournament starts tomorrow." the norn said. "Don't be late."

Kahmu bowed slightly and he and Gwen turned and headed towards an inn where they could rest for the night before the tournament the following day.

"I'm sure you know how to fight." he asked, eyeing Gwen's sword.

"Of course." replied Gwen.

"Show me." Kahmu grinned.

x x x x

The morning of the tournament came, and Gwen and Kahmu were up early, practicing. They barely got any sleep, but they knew that once they got into that arena, any form of sleep deprivation would be gone, the adrenaline alone would keep them going.

"Are you ready?" asked Kahmu, several hours later. Gwen nodded in reply, and sheathed her sword. They were unsure of what enemies awaited them in the arena, but whoever or _whatever_ they were, they were prepared to take them on.

They arrived at the arena only to be greeted by the same norn that they had encountered the day before, the one who had signed them up. He took them to a waiting room where all the other contestants were. Gwen looked around at their competition, and was completely surprised. Not only were there norn, but various other races too. Asurans, humans, and even Charr.

"Charr?" she whispered to Kahmu, who was cleaning his Scythe. "What are Charr doing here?"

"They're probably exiles, or castaways." replied Kahmu. "Seeking the thrill of the fight."

"Asurans are here as well." said Gwen. "A real multi-cultural contest."

"Don't underestimate the asurans." said Kahmu. "They look small and harmless, but some of them can do some pretty wild things."

"Don't worry, I'm aware." said Gwen. She was speaking from experience of course. She had watched Vekk battle and fight many times, and he was no pushover, especially for one so small as he was.

"One more thing," Kahmu said. "this tournament has no party size limit."

"What do you mean?"

"It means our team of two could be fighting off against a team of four."

"That's not very fair." said Gwen.

"It's not meant to be, really." replied Kahmu. "The norn are fierce competitors, the more opponents there are, the _happier_ they are. This tournament is based around their style of fighting, after all."

"I see." said Gwen, watching Kahmu polish his Scythe. "By the way, you never told me what you are, or where you came from."

"I'm a Dervish." said Kahmu. "I come from the continent of Elona."

"I've never seen Dervishes before." said Gwen. "Do you all fight with Scythes?"

"Most of us."

"And that armor…"

"It's a traditional Dervish outfit." he replied. "Although I can see why you find it strange."

"It's cultural." Gwen shrugged. "I get it."

A loud horn rang throughout the arena, signalling the start of the tournament. Cheers and roars could be heard from the eagerly awaiting crowd outside, and Gwen suddenly became nervous. She wasn't exactly fully prepared for something like this, she had only trained overnight with Kahmu. But despite their obvious disadvantage, both of them were equally talented fighters, and they were going to fight to win.

"You ready?" Kahmu asked, swinging his large scythe around his back.

"As ready as I can be."

Gwen watched as each competitor exited the waiting room to do battle in the arena, and hearing the crowd jeer and cry out as the battles took place. Their turn had not arrived, and Gwen was beginning to wonder which of the remaining opponents they were going to face. There were two norn in one corner, wielding incredibly large hammers, and in the other corner of the room, three asura were occupying themselves with their machines, three incredibly magnificent steel robots. Although Gwen didn't fully know what they were, she wasn't too keen on finding out what they could do in battle. Back over the other side of the room sat a group of human warriors. Mercenaries by the looks of them, basically looking for a fight anywhere they could get it.

"We're up." Kahmu said after a while, and Gwen followed him out of the waiting room and into a long corridor. "Remember, stay sharp, work together."

Gwen took a deep breath and exhaled. "Don't worry, I've got it."

The two of them walked to the end of the corridor, where they waited for the gate in front of them to be released. After several moments, the steel doors began to slide open, and the sunlight beamed through. Gwen heard the instant roar of the crowd as she and Kahmu stepped through into the arena to meet their foes. Across the other side of the arena, stood their opponents, the mercenaries.

"I was hoping for them." she said, giving herself a little smile.

"Don't underestimate them." Kahmu said, retrieving his Scythe and gripping it tightly with both hands. "There are five of them and only two of us."

"Trust me, I've faced worse odds." Gwen replied, unsheathing her blade. They both walked to the centre of the arena, meeting their opponents in the middle.

"We'll try and make this quick." one of the mercenaries laughed.

"Maybe when this is all over, you and me can have a drink, honey." another one said to Gwen, grinning.

"Sure, but when I cut off both your arms how will you hold your drink?" she replied. That wiped the grin off the mercenary's face and he merely scowled.

"You'll regret those words."

"I don't think I will."

The sound of the horn rang again, signalling for the fight to begin. Gwen and Kahmu instantly branched off from one another, going in separate directions in an attempt to divide their foes. Gwen sprang to the right and Kahmu to the left, circling around their enemies. Three of the mercenaries chased after Kahmu, while only two pursued Gwen. _Exactly as planned_. Gwen twirled her blade in her hand before jumping forward to meet her opponents. She clashed swords with the first mercenary, kicking him and gut before spinning to meet the other. She fought them with ease, anticipating every attack they threw at her.

"I can read you guys like a book." she mocked, throwing her palm into one of the mercenary's chin, sending him reeling back into his ally, both of them tumbling to the ground. These guys were hopeless, their fighting style was all over the place, wild, predictable and untrained. They had seriously underestimated her, probably because she was a girl, Gwen thought. With her opponents pretty much done and dusted, she turned around to see Kahmu fighting off the other three warriors. His defence was covered, due to his large scythe, but he was struggling to find an opening to attack. Gwen raced over to assist, grabbing a handful of dirt off the arena floor as she did. She closed in on the first mercenary, yelling "Hey!" before tossing the handful of dirt in his face. The mercenary cried out in pain as the particles entered his eyes, nose and mouth. Gwen followed up with a sharp kick to the groin, causing him to double over and collapse onto the ground. _One down_.

"Bitch!" one of the other mercenaries cried out, breaking away from his fight with Kahmu to engage Gwen in combat. With only one other warrior on Kahmu, the Dervish was easily able to handle himself, sweeping his scythe low to throw his opponent off his feet and onto the ground before sending the end of his weapon to the merc's throat. _Two down_.

Gwen locked swords with the last warrior, matching his attacks blow for blow. He wasn't like the others though, he was better, faster and a lot stronger. Gwen struggled to keep his attacks a bay, before finally resorting to her magic to disrupt her opponent's movement. The spell knocked him to the ground and before he could find the strength to recover, Gwen had a foot on his chest, holding him down with her blade to his throat.

"Don't get up." she warned him. He groaned and dropped his weapon in defeat, and in that instant, the crowd around them roared with cheering, clapping and chanting. Their fight had been an instant success, winning the crowd over with applause, and Gwen guessed it was due to their fight being one-sided. The crowd had thought they were going to lose because they had been outnumbered, and winning it had just earned them many fans.

"You did well Gwen." Kahmu said, clapping her on the back. "Much better than expected."

"All in a day's work." she smiled. The team of two exited the arena while their opponents got carried away by monks to be healed for any lasting wounds.

"That was a lot more thrilling than I originally thought." Gwen said, as they re-entered the waiting room. She felt alive, and pumped, and with the crowd rallying behind them, it had felt even better.

"Keep that up, because we have a lot more fights to go." Kahmu said. "Let's go and get some rest, the next round starts tomorrow."

x x x x

Gwen and Kahmu continued to train overnight, preparing themselves for the following round. Gwen was excited, she had gone into this without much expectations, and come out fully ready to commit. She worked on different strategies with Kahmu, revising new ways to combat their various foes.

Soon, the afternoon of their second match approached. Gwen and Kahmu were once again in the waiting room, eagerly expecting their names to be called. Gwen eyed their opponents carefully. The asurans were still around, still handling their robot machines with intense concentration, and the norn were still there as well, just sitting in the corner, analysing their competition as well. The Charr didn't seem to be around, they obviously hadn't made it through, Gwen thought. A pity, she would have relished the chance to fight some Charr in the arena. Another band of humans were in the waiting room as well, these ones clearly not mercenary. They were dressed in very prestigious-looking armor, and their weapons looked expertly crafted. An elite guild of some sort? Gwen wondered.

At last, Gwen heard their team being called to enter the arena. She followed Kahmu towards the familiar corridor that led into the arena and braced herself. She took several breaths to calm her nerves before the door to the arena slid open, revealing the crowd and their opponents. Gwen watched as three large robotic machines lugged themselves out, the three asurans sitting on the tops of the robots, controlling them with various knobs and dials.

"I didn't realise the asurans were so advanced." Gwen muttered to Kahmu. She had seem some of Vekk's creations, but nothing such as this.

"The asurans are incredibly intelligent creatures." Kahmu replied. "Be wary, this could be our toughest fight yet."

They met their foes in the centre of the arena as per usual, but no one spoke. They all just stood there, waiting for the horn to blow, signalling the start of the fight. Even the crowd died down, and there was a dead silence among the arena. The moment the horn sounded, Gwen rushed forwards, brandishing her sword in her right hand. She dived low for the first robot, sliding between its legs and hoping to disconnect the legs from the body with a slash of her sword.

"Foolish girl." the asura controlling the robot laughed. "A simple sword won't break my golem."

"So they're called golems." Gwen muttered. "Tough bastards." she rolled out of the way just as the golem's arm came crashing down, throwing up sand everywhere. Gwen could hear the clicks and whines of the mechanics within the golem as she dodged each attack. The golems were tough, but they were slow, making them easy to dodge and easy to move. Analysing her foe, she determined that the weakest point of the golem was: "The pilot, of course…"

The three asurans at the top of each golem were wide open and unprotected, making them vulnerable to attack, however, getting close was going to prove difficult. She backed up from her foe, leaving a good distance between them. She looked over to Kahmu, who was preoccupied with the other two golems. He seemed to be handling himself alright for the time being. Gwen sheathed her blade and began to focus her magic. She had no idea if magic was effective against these machines, but she had no other options to consider, the golem was striding towards her at that very moment. Her eyes snapped open, glowing a brilliant violet, and several spirit chains and shackles shot up from the ground, bounding the golem and locking its arms and legs to the ground. The asura controlling the golem yelped in surprise, and began to furiously pressing the buttons and dials on his control pad, but the golem was going nowhere. Gwen saw her open window and bounded forwards, drawing her sword in the process. She leaped atop the shackled golem and thrust her sword into the asura's control panel, shutting down the golem and all this mechanisms.

"No, what have you done?" the asura cried out, as his golem sparked and smoked, before collapsing to the ground in a heap. The frantic asura jumped out of the cockpit and began to fiddle with the controls, only to have them short circuit in his face. With one of the golems down, Gwen looked over to see Kahmu still in combat with the other two. The Dervish swung his scythe left and right, his blows merely bouncing off the metallic alloy of the golems. As Gwen ran to assist, one of the golems managed to knock Kahmu to the ground, pinning him down. His scythe fell to the ground, sliding several paces away. The other golem raised his stubby leg, ready to stomp down on its victim when Gwen jumped onto the golem's back, causing the machine to stagger backwards. Gwen, employing the same tactic as before, used her sword and thrust the blade into the control panel, severing the circuits and the wires. The golem sparked and smoked, and Gwen managed to jump off just as the robot exploded, its arms and legs flying in every direction. The asura controlling the golem was thrown from his cockpit and landed several feet away, unconscious.

Kahmu, using the distraction Gwen had provided, broke free of the golem's grip and retrieved his scythe. A golden glow formed around the scythe's blade and Kahmu charged, leaping into the air and bringing the weapon down onto the unsuspecting golem. It struck the heart of the golem, breaking through the metallic alloy body and shredding all the circuits within, causing the golem to shut down permanently.

In that single moment, the crowd jumped to their feet and roared, chanting the names of Kahmu and Gwen, over and over. The two warriors savoured the moment, drinking in the crowd's praise, Gwen especially, who could not stop smiling. She exited the arena with pride, Kahmu alongside her.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

"I feel great." she smiled back, but then she realised why she had come to Gunnar's Hold in the first place. Kyte, Vekk, Ogden and Pyre were fighting a war against the Destroyers, and she was wasting time here having fun? Her stomach suddenly dropped and her smile faded. How could she have forgotten what her real mission was?

"Kahmu…" she said finally. "I almost forgot why I came here. Every day I waste in the arena is a day I could be helping my friends."

"I take it you cannot wait?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." she replied. "I can't delay any longer, my friends need me. I understand if you want to stay, but I have to go to Sifhalla."

"No, I understand. I'm sorry for keeping you here for so long." said Kahmu. "A promise is a promise. You assisted me in this tournament. Although we will not get the chance to finish, I will keep my word. I will accompany you to Sifhalla."

"You're leaving so soon?" a voice from behind called out to them. Both Gwen and Kahmu turned around to see a young woman approaching them. She was dressed in orange hear, and wore something on her head that covered the entire top half of her face.

"And you are?" asked Gwen, curious to know how she saw her way around with that headgear blocking out her eyes.

"You're next opponent in the arena." the woman replied.

"Look, we can't-"

"You signed up for a tournament, and under tournament rules, you cannot simply walk away." she interrupted Gwen. "But by tomorrow, you can be on your way."

"And how's that?" asked Kahmu.

"Because you have no chance of beating me."

"Who _are _you?" Gwen asked again.

"I am Xandra, and you _will_ stay to fight me."


	12. Xandra

**Chapter Twelve: Xandra**

"You _will_ stay and fight me." Xandra said, preventing Gwen and Kahmu from leaving the arena. She looked intimidating, Gwen gave her that, but there was no way she was going to listen to this woman. Who the hell did she think she was?

"I'm sorry, we can't stay." insisted Gwen. "We have a more urgent matter-"

"I don't care." Xandra interrupted. "This is a tournament, and you are no exception to the rule."

"She's right." Kahmu said, looking at his partner. Gwen glanced at him, slightly surprised at his sudden agreement with this stranger. "We are breaking regulation."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Gwen.

"Not that I can think of." replied Kahmu. Gwen sighed and weighed her options. She didn't seem to have much of a choice. Xandra didn't look like she was going to back down anytime soon anyway.

"Fine, have it your way." she said finally. "Mark my words though, we _will_ beat you."

"I wouldn't bet on it, princess." Xandra scoffed, before walking away. Gwen stood where she was, gritting her teeth. She had a sudden urge to lash out, but resisted. She'll save it for the arena.

x x x x

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long for the next round to commence. With the amount of competitors significantly reduced in the last round, there weren't many left to compete. Gwen and Kahmu waited in front of the arena doors, fully prepared and equipped to face their next opponent. Gwen was more anxious to fight than ever, she wanted to show this arrogant woman that she wasn't a coward who'd back down from a fight. As the doors slid open to the arena, Gwen heard the familiar chanting of the crowd. She could hear many of them chanting their names, but the other half were chanting for Xandra. She seemed to be a popular fighter amongst the crowd as well. _Excellent_, Gwen thought. She'll show this crowd who they should _really_ be rooting for.

The two teams met in the middle; Gwen and Kahmu, Xandra and her two partners. Two warriors, dressed in heavy orange leather clads, and both wielding large scimitars.

"Leave Xandra to me." Gwen said to Kahmu, as they all drew their weapons, waiting for the horn to sound.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Trust me."

"If you say so." at that moment, the sound of the horn erupted around the arena, sending the crowd into a frenzy, and Gwen and Kahmu lunged forward to attack. Gwen's sword collided with Xandra's staff, and Kahmu took on both warriors with his scythe.

"I've been waiting for this moment, princess." Xandra mocked, twirling around and ducking low to avoid Gwen's overhead attack, and countering by sweeping her staff low, knocking Gwen onto the ground. She quickly recovered, however, and continued her flurry of attacks as though nothing had happened. Xandra blocked and dodged, and even Gwen was impressed by her agility and acrobatic skills.

"You're an agile one." said Gwen, swinging her sword low, only to miss yet again.

"A compliment?" asked Xandra, doing a series of backflips before landing on her feet in a perfect stance.

"No, an observation." Gwen countered, sliding forwards and spinning her blade in a very creative fashion.

"Come now, princess," Xandra laughed. "can't even land a hit?" Gwen smirked and responded by thrusting her palm out in front of her, sending out a telekinetic wave that struck an unsuspecting Xandra in this chest, sending her to the ground.

"Bitch…" Xandra muttered, jumping to her feet.

"Oh dear, what happened to that smile of yours?" Gwen taunted. She held out her blade in a defensive stance and grinned, waiting for Xandra's next move.

"I would've guessed you were a Mesmer." Xandra replied. "Always such arrogant people…"

"Speak for yourself, you egotistical hippie." snapped Gwen.

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Xandra said, stabbing the end of her staff into the ground. She then began to chant something Gwen could not quite hear, but whatever she was chanting was causing her staff to glow a brilliant blue. A ball of light began to form at Gwen's feet, and she took a step back, unsure of what to expect. The ball hovered in front of her, rising slowly. Something about it was enchanting, beautiful in appearance, and in nature. Gwen wanted to simply reach out and touch it, but as she began to raise her hand, the ball exploded and a powerful electrical force threw Gwen backwards, where she landed on her back, the wind being knocked out of her in the process.

"You're not the only one with surprises!" Xandra shouted, as Gwen slowly struggled to her feet. The attack had caught her off guard, and she was experiencing burns all over her arms and face. Xandra however, was not finished. She began to chant again, so fast that Gwen could only hear mumbles. When the spell had been cast, Xandra's weapon began to change form, from a regular looking staff to a more brutal and aggressive appearance.

"By Lyssa-" began Gwen, but she blinked, and Xandra' was gone. The Ritualist reappeared behind Gwen in a matter of seconds, an before Gwen could even fathom what was going on, she was struck in the back, sending her to her knees. Xandra then appeared directly in front of the young Mesmer, sending the base of the staff into Gwen's chin, throwing her onto her back.

"You can't hit me if you don't know where I am." Xandra said, disappearing again in the blink of an eye. _Shadow step_? Gwen wondered. No, it couldn't be, Xandra was no assassin. That spell she had cast on her weapon must have somehow enhanced her speed to move and attack.

Gwen got to her feet as quick as she could and began casting a spell of her own. As soon as she finished, Xandra appeared out of nowhere to strike again, only to be met by an invisible barrier, stopping the Ritualist's attack in its tracks and repelling Xandra backwards, where she landed on her side.

"You're not the only one with tricks up her sleeve." Gwen muttered, clutching her left arm. Xandra's relentless attacks had caused Gwen's arm to become unusable.

"That seems to be the case." muttered Xandra, clambering to her feet. The effects of her weapon spell had worn off, and her staff had returned to its original state. Gwen saw her opportunity and casted her spirit shackles, which wrapped themselves around Xandra and dragging her to the ground in a tight grip. Picking up her sword, Gwen held it tightly in her right hand and charged, preparing to strike the finishing blow. As she brought the blade down, something emerged from the ground and took the blow instead. For an instant, Gwen saw the face of a ghostly spirit roar in pain as her blade struck it, causing it to vanish as quickly as it appeared. The nature of the interruption caused Gwen to lose her focus, and the spirit shackles faded away, allowing Xandra to counterattack with a heavy punch to the gut. Gwen doubled over and staggered backwards, only to be met with a knee to the face, causing her to reel back and drop to the ground for the fourth time. This time, Gwen didn't want to get up. She could feel the cold snow underneath her fingers as she clenched her fists, but she was in no shape to continue fighting. Her left arm was useless, her legs were sore, and her nose bloody.

"Give up, princess?" she heard Xandra say, standing over her. "I knew you didn't have it in you."

Hearing these words send a raging fire through Gwen. Her eyes snapped open, the brilliant violet glow gleaming in the pupils. Suddenly Xandra doubled over, clutching her head in pain.

"What-?" was all she could say, before a sharp pain erupted in her mind. Xandra fell to her knees in agony, her head felt like it was set on fire.

"Don't call me princess." was all Gwen said, before throwing her foot into Xandra's chin, sending the Ritualist reeling backwards and into the ground. Gwen dropped to her knees and began to pant heavily, as that last desperate attack had drained her of any remaining energy. to her surprise, however, Xandra was scrambling to her feet in front of her.

"Damn.." she muttered to herself. She had hoped that her final attack had put Xandra down for good. Obviously not. Gwen glanced over to Kahmu, who was struggling himself with the two warriors. Both of his opponents were gaining the upper hand on him, and his movements were faltering. Using a crippling sweep, he managed to severely injure one of the warriors, only to have the other throw his foot in his face. Gwen watched as Kahmu was overpowered and thrown to the ground. Glancing back at Xandra, the Ritualist was slowly rising to her feet, but like Gwen, her energy was low, and she could barely move, let alone walk.

"I will not lose to you." she heard Xandra mutter.

"You think I want to lose to you?" she replied, attempting to get back on her feet. Every muscle in her body ached, but she bore it. Captain Langmar had always said she was a stubborn one. Gwen commanded her energy for one final push, almost certain that if she wasted all her energy, she could incapacitate herself. Xandra seemed to think the same, as she held out her staff, and a familiar electrical energy formed around the tip. Gwen's eyes flashed violet, and a purple wave pulsated in her palms. Xandra's attack fired, and the blue lightning struck Gwen's palm, causing it to be absorbed. The attack however, was not negated, and Gwen felt the painful shock of the attack run through her bones. Drawing on her last breath, she performed her mimicry technique and launched the same attack Xandra had used back into its caster. The attack struck Xandra in the chest, sending her body rigid in shock before she and Gwen both collapsed onto the ground. The last thing Gwen heard was the crowd chanting their names, before she felt nothing, and her vision went dark.

x x x x

As Gwen slowly opened her eyes, she saw a large norn woman standing over her, examining her. She tried to speak, but her throat was dry, and she could barely move a muscle. Her whole body simply ached.

"Ah, you're awake." the norn woman said. "That was quite the fight."

"Where am I?" Gwen croaked, trying to look around.

"Relax, you are in my home." the woman said. "I was told by the tournament officials to heal you."

"Tournament…?"

"You were fighting in the norn fighting tournament, do you not remember?" the woman asked. "You must have been hit really hard."

"Who are you?"

"I am Eyja." the norn replied. "Now just relax, I have to tend to your friends."

"Friends?" Gwen raised her head as much as she could, and watched as Eyja walked over to a bed across from her. Lying in it was Xandra, who looked just as out of it as she was. At that moment, A familiar man walked into the room.

"You're up." Kahmu said, sitting beside her bed. "Glad to see you're ok."

"What happened?" asked Gwen.

"We had quite the fight with Xandra and her friends." Kahmu replied, nodding to the unconscious Ritualist. "You both took each other out, and unfortunately, we lost the round. Xandra's warrior friends overpowered me and took me out."

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For not being able to win." she said.

"Gwen, don't trouble yourself with such things." Kahmu smiled. "Just get better, we have a long journey ahead of us."

"Journey?"

"By Balthazar, you _were_ hit hard." he chuckled. "To Sifhalla, remember? You have friends there. I'm going to take you, once you get better."

Yes, she remembered now. Her friends were rallying the norn to fight the Destroyers, and Drakkar Lake was their last known destination. Gwen had hoped to catch up with them and join them. Gwen's thoughts of her friends was the last thing on her mind, before she final dozed off into a deep sleep.

x x x x

As Kahmu and Gwen prepared their things a couple of days later, a much recovered Xandra approached them, carrying a travelling pack. When Gwen had awoke several days prior, Xandra had already recovered, or so Eyja had told her. She had left Eyja's place before Gwen had had a chance to see her.

"Came to gloat?" she asked as the Ritualist approached.

"No… actually I came… to join you." Xandra said.

"Come again?" asked Kahmu.

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but after our fight, I was… intrigued." Xandra said.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked her, puzzled.

"I haven't had a fight that good in a long, long time." explained Xandra. "Not since my days in Cantha. I think travelling with you might be a good experience for me. I'm interested to see what else you can do."

"What about the tournament?" asked Gwen. "Your team made it through."

"My partners can continue without me." said Xandra. "I've already spoken to them, and they wouldn't want to leave anyway. So, what do you say?"

Gwen and Kahmu simply looked at each other, both in surprise at Xandra's choice and decisions. But Gwen turned back to her and held out her hand. "We'll be glad to have you." Xandra smiled warmly and shook her hand.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank us yet." Gwen said. "We have a long walk ahead, you sure about this?"

"It's better than sticking around here." Xandra shrugged, and Gwen simply smirked. She had just made an unlikely ally, and she was sure this journey had just become a lot more interesting. The three set out of Gunnar's Hold into the morning light, with clear skies and a warm sun beaming down upon them.

"So Xandra, where are you from?" Gwen asked, after several moments had past.

"I come from Cantha, as part of the Luxon Turtle Clan." the Ritualist replied. "My mother is Juno, she leads our clan."

"She sounds like she's a pretty powerful woman."

"How she became leader is… mysterious." Xandra said.

"If you're the clan leader's daughter, why did you leave?" asked Kahmu. "I would have thought that you would be taking her place."

"I was sent away by my mother, as she feared for my safety." Xandra said. "The Kurzicks and the Luxons have been at war for years, and when it was clear that Shiro Tagachi had risen again, my mother insisted I left for Ascalon on an '_ambassadorial tenure_'."

"A what?" Gwen asked, confused.

"Canthans would call it exile."

"Hasn't the war with Shiro Tagachi been all but over?" Kahmu asked. "I heard a young warrior rallied the Heroes of Ascalon and allied the Kurzicks and the Luxons in order to combat Shiro and his Shiro'kens."

"The war is over, yes, but I feel that I am not ready to return to my people." Xandra said. "And I'm not entirely sure I want to."

"Why not?"

"I miss my clan, but travelling the lands of Ascalon and experiencing new things has been a spiritual journey for me." she replied. "Before I return, I want to do something of worth, prove myself, and bring honor to the Turtle Clan."

"I hope you find what you're looking for." said Gwen.

"Thank you, Gwen." Xandra replied with a smile. "And what of you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you on this journey?"

"I'm seeking my friends, who have set out to recruit the norn people for a coming threat." said Gwen.

"What kind of threat?"

"We call them the Destroyers," explained Gwen. "they are powerful, and incredibly dangerous creatures that have recently appeared from the depths. If we don't stop them, Ascalon could fall to these beasts."

"You're creating an army?" asked Xandra.

"As much of an army as we can."

"I see." said Xandra. "And these friends of yours, they are humans?"

"Some of them." Gwen replied. She didn't want to mention that one of her party companions had been a Charr. Humans and Charr working together still didn't feel right to her. Gwen contemplated what she was going to do once she saw her friends again. Would they allow her to travel with them? She was worried about Kyte especially, who had told her that he didn't want her going with them in fear of her getting hurt, but she was sick of being treated like a child. She was a soldier of the Ebon Vanguard, trained to fight and survive. She knew now that if she was going to die, she was going to die fighting.


	13. Frozen

**Chapter Thirteen: Frozen**

Three days had passed since Kahmu, Xandra and Gwen had set forth for Drakkar Lake, in hopes of finding Gwen's companions and reuniting with them. The weather had been on their side, with very few snow storms and blizzard hindering their journey. Due to this, the time it took for them to reach the border between the Norrhart Domains and Drakkar Lake had been significantly reduced.

During their time together, the group had shared stories of their travels. Gwen told them of her childhood and her tragic enslavement to the Charr, and Kahmu spoke of how he started his life in Vabbi, before moving to Tyria in search of worthy competitors to fight. Xandra simple spoke of the war and rivalry between the Luxons and the Kurzicks, and the vast history between the two factions. The three soon became close and even taught each other new forms of fighting techniques, each from their respective cultures. Gwen learned how to wield a two-handed weapon, and she learned how to use it to disarm, cripple, and wear down her foes while holding up an impenetrable defence. In return, she taught them her own very unique fighting style incorporating acrobatics and agility, two factors which caused her to be so agile in battle. Xandra also taught Gwen how to better manage her energy and her spells, so that she wouldn't wear herself out to quickly in a fight. All these skills were extremely beneficial to Gwen, and she was grateful to her new allies.

"We are close to the border now." Kahmu said once the sun set after yet another day of travel.

"Yes, I can see the tip." added Xandra. "We should be there by late morning tomorrow."

"At last," sighed Gwen. "I'm getting a bit sick of the snow." she wrapped the fur coat she had acquired from Gunnar's Hold tighter around her shoulders as a chilling breeze surrounded them. During the night, the temperature dropped severely, and it had been difficult to maintain a fire, let alone keep themselves warm.

"How far till Sifhalla from there?" asked Gwen.

"About a day's walk." replied Kahmu. "We are not far."

The three of them found appropriate shelter to keep them covered throughout the night and set up camp. They managed to get a small fire going but the cold air was not helping. Gwen volunteered to stay awake first to keep it going while the other two got some sleep, agreeing to take turns in shifts.

Gwen poked at the fire, contemplating her thoughts on what was to come. She wondered if Kyte and the others had managed to rally the norn to their cause yet, or if they were having difficulty. The norn were a proud race, and certainly not one to ask for help, but where things were going with the Destroyers, even Gwen knew the norn couldn't handle it on their own. A slight tremor woke Gwen from her thoughts and she peered into the darkness. The tremor shook again, and Gwen knew this time that something was coming. She got to her feet and circled around the fire, trying to make out what was in the distance. Suddenly, all she saw as a dark black shadow coming down, and she just managed to roll out of the way as the head of a massive spiked club crashed into the ground beside her. The attack instantly awoke Kahmu and Xandra, who took a moment to scramble to their feet.

"MOVE!" Gwen cried out, as two more clubbed weapons smashed down around them. Out of the darkness and into the fire's dim light, Gwen saw that it was three Jotun giants that were attacking them, and she saw their faces: deformed, vicious, and murderous. But something was not right. Their eyes were pearly white, and their bodies were frosty, like they had been dead in the snow for a long time.

Gwen withdrew her weapon in preparation to defend herself, but one of the Jotun giants reached out an icy hand and grasped Kahmu around his waist, disarming him instantly and dragging him off into the night.

"What in Balthazar was _that_?" Xandra cried out moments later when the Jotuns had vanished into the night.

"They took Kahmu." said Gwen. "We have to pursue."

"It's way too dark!" said Xandra. "How are we supposed to follow?"

"We have to!" Gwen said, grabbing Xandra by the arm and looking directly into her eyes. "You know he would do the same for us."

"You're right." Xandra said, picking up a broken branch and dipping it into the fire. "This will give us light temporarily, but we have to move quickly."

Gwen snuffed out the rest of the fire as Xandra moved off into the night in pursuit of the Jotuns and Kahmu, while Gwen picked up Kahmu's fallen scythe. The two of them waded through the darkness following the large Jotun footprints in the snow.

"They can't have gotten far." Xandra said after a while.

"We crossed over into Drakkar Lake a few minutes back." said Gwen. "I think we're in their territory now."

"Be careful." warned Xandra. "Ears sharp."

Gwen did not understand why a group of Jotun giants would want to kidnap Kahmu, but somehow, when she glimpsed them in the light, they were different. They weren't like any kind of Jotun she had seen before. They seemed… possessed, or controlled even.

"I never knew the Jotun had the smarts to kidnap someone." said Gwen.

"These were obviously different." said Xandra, slowing her pace. The footprints had led towards the mouth of a cave opening, and Xandra and Gwen halted their march.

"What do you think?"

"We've got no backup, and we can't just leave him down there." replied Gwen.

"Good point." Xandra then threw the lit torch into the mouth of the cave, to see how far the darkness went. "It's far."

"Like I said," said Gwen, moving into the cave. "we got no backup, it's just us." Xandra followed her in, and Gwen picked up the torch that they had thrown inside; their only source of light.

The cave seemed to go on for ages, but eventually, the path ahead had a light at the end of the tunnel. Gwen snuffed out the torch they were carrying as they carefully and quietly approached the end of the tunnel. As they peeked through the exit, they saw that the cave ended in a large circular room, completely covered in ice. They saw the three Jotuns doing something, but they could not make out what. It was then that Gwen spotted Kahmu, who was strung up against an ice spire. He was unconscious and not moving.

"What's the plan?" whispered Xandra.

"You tell me." said Gwen. "You think we can take those three?" The Jotuns were large creatures. Gwen and Xandra barely reached a little above their knees.

"They're a lot bigger than norn." muttered Gwen. "And I thought the norn were difficult to fight…"

"They're not as smart." Xandra pointed out.

"True."

"We can't stand around here forever, we need to get Kahmu out of here!" Xandra hissed. At that moment, Gwen felt a chill in the air, and she was beginning to hear whispers echoing around the cave.

"What is that?" she asked, looking to Xandra, who was looking around the cave herself, obviously stumped at where the voices were coming from. However, the longer Gwen listened to this voice, the more she was drawn to it. It was like it was enticing her to follow the sound.

"_Come to me…_" she heard it whisper in her ear. She began to lose all her thoughts and actions, and every part of her wanted to follow the voice, but when she looked down, she saw Kahmu, who had begun to writher and squirm. Something was surrounding him, a dark aura of black mist. Gwen couldn't quite make out what it was doing, but her senses snapped back to her and she focused.

"Xandra!" she cried out, slapping her across the face. The Ritualist was stunned, but seemed to return to her senses as well. "Let's go!" Gwen drew Kahmu's scythe from her back and twirled it in her hands. She slid down the ice and charged towards the Jotuns, the scythe dancing at her side. She swung low at first, aiming for the feet. Gwen's attack sliced through the first Jotun's leg, crippling it and sending it roaring to the ground in pain. The second Jotun however, wasn't so stupid. Seeing Gwen attack, it stepped out of the way just in time and countered with a earth-shattering blow to the ground, causing the ice below Gwen's feet to shudder and crack. She lost her balance and fell to the ground, the scythe sliding away from her along the slippery ice. Gwen thought it was all over until Xandra appeared in front of her, casting a spirit rift between her and her foe. The rift's electrical charge exploded in the Jotun's face, causing it to reel backwards in pain, covering its eyes in the process.

Gwen saw her chance to recover and scrambled to her feet, picking up the fallen scythe and wielding it in her right arm. She saw the third Jotun charging towards Xandra, its massive club hovering in the air above its head. Using her free hand, Gwen cast a spell causing the spirit shackles to shoot up from the ground; numerous chains binding themselves around the charging Jotun and dragging it to the ground, where it remained unable to move. With two of the three Jotun's lying on the icy ground, Gwen and Xandra were able to focus on taking out their leader: the white-skinned Jotun. The white Jotun roared in fury and swung his spiked club out in front of him, and Gwen and Xandra were barely able to avoid the attack. Xandra cast a weapon spell, causing her weapon attacks to strike for double the damage. She raised her staff to attack, and struck the Jotun on the side of his knee. Gwen heard a sickening _crack_ as the bones in the Jotun's leg were all but shattered. The creature wailed in pain as it toppled to the ground. Gwen saw her chance and raced forwards, the scythe in hand. She curled the blade of the scythe around the Jotun's throat and pulled, finally silencing the giant.

With the three Jotuns down, Gwen rushed over to Kahmu, who was still writhing and shaking under this black smoky aura. Gwen looked into his eyes and saw that they were pure white. Something or _someone_ was trying to possess him, and by the looks of it, it was the same thing that had been controlling the Jotuns.

"Kahmu, snap out of it!" she cried out to him, but received no response. She began to free him from his binds and released him from the spire he was tied to, and he simply collapsed in her arms. Xandra rushed over and attempted some restoration magic, but nothing was working.

"We need to get him out of here, to Sifhalla." said Gwen, draping one arm over her shoulder, while Xandra took the other. Together, they hauled Kahmu out of the cave and into the morning light of Drakkar Lake.

"How far to Sifhalla?"

"A day, by the looks of it." muttered Xandra. "But if we can pass through that mountain, we might make it in half." she nodded towards a large snow-capped mountain across the frozen Drakkar Lake.

"Do you think he'll make it in half?" asked Gwen.

"He's got to."

Mustering all their strength, Gwen and Xandra worked together to move Kahmu across the snow fields and across the lake. Gwen looked down at the lake that they were now walking on, which had been frozen solid completely.

"Will the ice break?" she asked as they made the first few steps onto the lake.

"No." replied Xandra. "The lake has been frozen for decades, perhaps centuries. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire lake is frozen from top to bottom." Those words eased Gwen's mind a little, but she could feel something around them, a dark presence of some kind, lingering around the lake itself.

"Something isn't right here." she whispered. "It feels like the same thing that we heard whispering to us in the cave."

"Keep going." Xandra said. "The mountain cave is not far."

The two of them approached the entrance to the cave an hour later, both of them tiring after carrying an incapacitated Kahmu all the way across Drakkar Lake. As soon as they reached the entrance, they set him down against a rock and took a break. Xandra checked up on Kahmu to make sure he was still alive, before giving Gwen a satisfying nod.

_Hang in there, Kahmu_, she thought to herself. There was no way in hell that she was going to allow another companion of hers die. Not this time.

After a while, they continued on through the mountain's cave. The presence Gwen had felt on the lake was still around, and Gwen couldn't shake the feeling that something was following them or at least, watching them. She looked to Xandra, who gave Gwen an agreeing look that something was not right.

"I'd rather be out there than in here, to be honest." said Gwen, looking around the cave. It wasn't completely covered in ice, like the Jotun's cave, and it was significantly larger, but Xandra seemed to know where she was going, and Gwen simply followed. They continued to walk in silence, and Gwen was keeping her senses aware, ready and expecting for anything to jump out at them. She couldn't pin-point it, but she had a bad feeling, and it was only growing.

"Xandra, I think we need to stop."

"No, keep going." Xandra said. "Once we're out of the cave, we'll be safe."

"You're telling me we're not safe now?"

"Gwen, Kahmu is in bad shape, if we don't get him some help now, he surely won't make it."

"Something is watching us Xandra." Gwen said. "I can feel it."

"I feel it too, but-" at that moment, Kahmu's eyes snapped open, and he roared, throwing his arms into the air and knocking both Gwen and Xandra backwards. Gwen looked up and saw Kahmu standing over them, a rage coming over him. His eyes were glowing an icy blue, and the dark aura Gwen had seen back in the Jotun cave was surrounding him, _feeding _off him. It was controlling him.

"Kahmu!" shouted Gwen, crawling backwards to safety, and with Xandra right next to her, she scrambled to her feet, holding her hands out in front of her, to show Kahmu that they were not going to harm him. "You've got to resist it, Kahmu, don't let it consume you!"

Kahmu simply stared at them, a murderous and terrifying look dwelling in his eyes. He began to walk towards them slowly, his fist curled into a ball. Gwen and Xandra backed off slowly, none of them sure of what to do.

"We can't harm him." said Gwen, disregarding the thought to draw her weapon.

"Well he looks bent on harming _us._" replied Xandra.

"He has to resist it, I know he can."

"Whatever's possessing him has pretty good control."

"No." Gwen began chanting a spell, and a purple light formed in front of Kahmu, preventing him from moving forward. The possessed Kahmu touched the barrier and felt it, before shattering it without so much as a single touch. He then jumped forward and grasped Xandra around the neck, squeezing hard. The Ritualist gasped for breath and clawed at his grip, but it was tight, and he showed no signs of letting her go.

"Kahmu, no!" Gwen cried out. She tried to pull him away from Xandra, but the possessed Kahmu did not even give her a second glance as he backhanded her into the wall behind them. Gwen slid to the ground, her head spinning. She tried to get up, but her whole body ached in pain. She watched as Kahmu continued to strangle Xandra, who was now on her knees, the light in her eyes disappearing slowly…

All of a sudden, Kahmu roared in pain and released the Ritualist. He gripped his head and dropped to his knees, Xandra collapsing beside him, unconscious. He writhed and squirmed, fighting the thing that was controlling him.

"No!" he cried out, clutching his head tighter. "Get… OUT!" he screamed and the black aura around him began to fade, and Gwen, who was still having trouble adjusting her vision, swore she saw the face of a dragon shriek as the spirit left Kahmu's body and dissipated into thin air. Kahmu crumpled to the floor and remained there, not moving. Gwen regained her strength and got to her feet, rushing over to see if her friends were ok. She turned Xandra over onto her back, where the Ritualist began coughing and gasping, clutching her throat.

"You alright?" asked Gwen. Xandra simply nodded and sat upright, pointing to Kahmu.

"Make sure he's okay." she gasped. Gwen turned Kahmu over and checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive. She felt something, but it was faint. He needed help immediately, and Sifhalla wasn't getting any closer.

"We have to get going Xandra." said Gwen, hauling Kahmu to his feet. "Can you walk?"

Xandra simply nodded, still coughing, and helped Gwen carry Kahmu through the cave. Gwen swore she saw the spirit leave Kahmu's body, but she could _still_ feel its presence lingering. Whatever this thing was, it was persistent, and it clearly wanted one of them, if not all of them dead. Her memory flashed back to when she saw Kahmu fighting the spirit. When Kahmu had managed to expel the spirit from his body, she was sure she saw the face of a dragon for a brief moment, but perhaps it was her mind playing tricks on her. Why would it have been a dragon? Dragons hadn't been seen in Tyria for centuries. The only dragons in existence that she knew of was the dragon Glint who resided in the Crystal Desert, and even then very few have ever seen her in person. Then there was the dragon Kuunavang, who she had only read about in books.

They picked up the pace, hurrying to get Kahmu the help he needed. The cave seemed to go on forever, but by using Xandra's guidance, she knew exactly where to go. They rounded a corner, and Gwen saw the exit to the cave just over a bridge that was over a wide chasm.

"We're nearly there." she breathed, pointing to the bridge. "Quickly-" her words were cut short when all of a sudden a large creature appeared before them in a cloud of black smoke. Gwen recognized the beast instantly as it roared loudly. It was the very same ice bear that had attacked Captain Langmar and the Ebon Vanguard patrol.

"Get back!" she cried out, staggering backwards. The combined weight of Kahmu and Xandra losing her balance caused them all to fall to the ground, just as the bear let out another ear-piercing shriek. It leaned down on all fours and stared into Gwen's eyes. She did not move, and she did not breath as she stared back into what she was sure was death itself.


	14. Curse

**Chapter Fourteen: Curse**

Gwen could feel the hot breath of the bear on her face. It was staring down at her, its sharp teeth baring ferociously. She did not move, nor did she speak, she only stared back, not even blinking. She was sure Xandra had been knocked out cold beside her, and Kahmu was in no condition to move either. The bear growled softly, inching closer and closer to her, but she held her ground, refusing to give in to the beast before her. She now felt the presence around her was stronger than ever. The bear was the creature that had been stalking them, and it had only waited until now to make its move. Perhaps it knew that Kahmu's possession had failed, and it was here to finish the job.

In that final instant, the bear roared so loudly that Gwen could see the far reaches of its throat as its mouth opened, ready to devour her whole… but in that moment, something struck the bear from behind, causing it to whimper and bowl out of the way. Gwen scrambled backwards on her hands and knees looking for a place to hide, just as she saw a familiar orange-furred individual bound forwards to combat the bear.

"What are you _doing_ here, mouse?" Pyre Fierceshot roared, throwing his large arms up in defence as the bear clawed at him viciously.

"Pyre-" she began to say, but the bear's large arms proved too big for Pyre to handle, and he was thrown into the cave wall behind him. The ice bear didn't relent, and continued its assault on the fallen Charr. Pyre managed to recover and roll to the side just as the bear collided with the cave wall, sending multiple ice stalactites to fall from the cave ceiling. They shattered around the pair as they continued to engage in combat, Pyre's fierce and aggressive style of fighting easily matching up to that of the bear. Gwen felt an inclination to move in and assist Pyre, but she knew that she would be more of a hindrance than a help.

"Gwen, get back!" she heard a familiar voice call. She turned to see several more familiar faces running towards her. Ogden, Vekk and Kyte bounded down the passageway, followed closely by two norn. Gwen obeyed her friends orders and retreated back to them, collecting Kahmu and Xandra on the way. Kyte assisted her in moving them to a safer place just as Pyre made an epic throw that caused the bear to slam into a nearby cave spire. The bear got back up instantly and let out an high-pitched shriek that caused everyone to duck and cover their ears. In that moment, the bear vanished into thin air, like Gwen had seen it do the last time she encountered it.

"It has retreated back to the spirit world." one of the norn, a young woman, said.

"It'll be back, I presume." said Kyte.

"When it has recovered and healed, yes it will return."

"Kyte…" was all Gwen said, before embracing him in a tight hug. The young warrior was taken aback at first, but smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's good to see you again, kid." Ogden Stonehealer greeted her.

Vekk simply nodded in acknowledgement and smiled. "What he said."

"If we're done with the sentimental stuff, can we move on?" Pyre Fierceshot growled from behind them. Gwen released Kyte and scowled, but said nothing as the group turned over to Xandra and Kahmu.

"They need help immediately." said Gwen.

"I will take them back to Sifhalla." one of the norn women said, storing her bow around her back. She picked up both of them and slung them around each shoulder.

"Thank you…?" Gwen began, realising she didn't know the woman's name.

"You may call me Sif Shadowhunter, child." she replied, before turning to the other norn woman. "Jora, continue the hunt, the beast must be found. I will catch up as soon as I can."

As soon as Sif Shadowhunter took off for the cave exit, the group immediately turned back to Pyre, who sniffing around his surroundings. The norn known as Jora walked up to him and nodded, and Pyre did something Gwen had never seen a Charr do before: get on all fours. She watched as the Charr's eyes focused and suddenly, they turned a vibrant yellow. Pyre's eyes darted around the cave, until it locked onto something Gwen could not see.

"This way." he snarled, getting back onto his two feet and running down one of the cave passages.

"What's going on?" asked Gwen, keeping up with them.

"We're hunting the thing that attacked you, the nornbear." replied Kyte. "The only way to track it is by receiving an ancient blessing of the wolf spirit."

"Wolf spirit?"

"A spirit is possessing Pyre?" asked Gwen, taken aback.

"No, he's been granted its power temporarily." the norn known as Jora chimed in. "He received the Volfen Blessing from the norn's sacred wolf shrine."

"Why are we doing this?" Gwen whispered to Kyte.

"Jora needs our help." replied Kyte, nodding to the norn. "The nornbear… it's her brother." Gwen's eyes widened at the news and looked at the young woman, surprised at her determination to hunt down her own brother. Pyre continued to lead the group through the cave, using the Volfen Blessing to seek out and track out the scent of the nornbear. Gwen was still trying to wrap her head around the whole thing, but for now, she was willing to do whatever she could to assist her friends in their quest.

"How can Pyre track the nornbear if it retreated into the spirit world?" asked Gwen.

"The nornbear leaves a lingering trail only the power of the wolf can detect." explained Jora. "Technically it is still here, we just cannot see or hear it."

"He's close." Pyre said finally, sniffing the air. "I can sense him." Kyte and Jora immediately drew their swords in response, with Vekk and Ogden not far behind them. Gwen drew the short sword attached to the back of her waist, as Kahmu's scythe had gone back to Sifhalla with him.

For a moment, everything was quiet, and then, there was a noise that sounded like air being sucked up a vacuum and the nornbear appeared behind Kyte, catching him off guard and backhanding him into a nearby cave spire, where it shattered instantly on his impact. Jora roared something fierce as she raced forwards to engage the nornbear in combat, swinging her large sword before her. She managed to wound it, and it vanished again in an instant, only to reappear behind Pyre, who was prepared. Using the power the wolf spirit had bestowed upon him, the Charr fought the nornbear in hand to hand combat, clawing and pouncing away at every chance he got. Gwen had never witnessed a Charr so agile and so powerful at the same time. Pyre beat the nornbear back, and it roared fiercely, showing its many sharp razored teeth as it back off slowly with Pyre in pursuit and Jora backing him up.

Gwen looked over to see Ogden and Vekk attempting to get Kyte to his feet and checking his wounds. The young warrior had a large tear in his armor, and blood was seeping from the wound in his back. Gwen rushed over to examine the injury, but Kyte assured her he was fine.

"Go help them." he winced, indicating towards Pyre and Jora, who had their hands full with the bear. The nornbear was indeed powerful, and Gwen watched as it easily handled both Pyre and Jora, even with Pyre's Volfen Blessing, the nornbear was slowly shutting him down, and Jora's sword attacks barely left a scratch. Gwen marched over to assist her friends, and began chanting spells to hinder the nornbear. Although they weren't doing much damage, the spells proved to be distracting, and the bear ceased attacking Pyre and Jora, only to start grunting and shaking its head ferociously, as if to try and shake whatever was trying to intrude into its mind.

"Attack now!" Gwen shouted out. Pyre and Jora leaped forwards to finish the job, but the nornbear unleashed its most devastating attack: a shrieking roar that was powerful enough to shatter the frozen ice around them, and send Gwen, Jora and Pyre flying off their feet only to hit the hard ground in a tumbling heap. And with a menacing glare, the bear retreated once again to the spirit world to heal itself, disappearing from sight.

Gwen, Jora and Pyre got to their feet slowly, feeling the bruises they had received from the battle. Gwen back over to Kyte, who could barely walk without hunching over and clutching his torso. They were down a fighter now, and it was surely going to be harder to take down the nornbear now.

"Pyre, track him again." said Jora, and Pyre obeyed, focusing his Volfen abilities to change his eyes yellow. He scanned the area once again before slowly moving off towards to east of the cave, with Jora in pursuit.

"Go, Gwen, you have to help them." said Kyte.

"He's right," Ogden added. "they need you. Don't worry, we'll take care of him."

Gwen nodded and took off after Jora and Pyre, who were weaving in and out of the cave tunnels. Gwen could see snow piling up more and more along the sides of the path, indicating that they were reaching an exit of the cave. She caught a glimpse of Jora and Pyre, who had exited the cave and were standing on a large platform of the mountain, high above Drakkar Lake.

"He is here." Pyre growled, looking around him.

"Keep your guard." said Jora, raising her shield and sword in preparation. Gwen caught up with them and raised her short sword in front of her, watching Jora's back.

"He can't run any longer." said Pyre. "This is the final stand."

As if hearing Pyre say those words, the nornbear's roar was heard from above, and Pyre just managed to roll out of the way as it reappeared and lunged and landed just where he had been standing. All three of them moved at once, surrounding the bear so it could not escape. Pyre was the first to strike, grabbing the nornbear's arms and pinning them down as Jora charged forward to strike him at his heart. But the nornbear was stronger than they had anticipated, and it broke free of Pyre's grip, throwing the Charr aside like a toy before grasping Jora's blade with his bare hands and tossing it—and Jora along with it—into the stony mountainside, where she collapsed to the snowy ground. Only Gwen remained, and the nornbear was upon her in an instant, clawing and snapping its fierce jaws, hoping to strike her somewhere fatal, but she kept up her defence, using her agility and her acrobatic fighting style to avoid and retreat from her foe. She wasn't stupid, she knew she couldn't handle the nornbear alone, but it gave her time to think up a viable strategy. Unknown to her, however, the nornbear had managed to corner her. She turned around and looked down and the sheer drop that awaited her if she fell.

"Damn." she muttered to herself. She turned back to watch the nornbear slowly advance on her, and she inched back as far as she could, until she could not move back any more. The nornbear was on the verge of striking when a large arrow struck him in the back, piercing him in a small area that was made unprotected by his icy armor. The bear turned to see another norn warrior already stringing another arrow into her bow.

"Go child, now!" Sif Shadowhunter called out, firing another arrow at the bear. It struck true, piercing his chest but not his heart. The nornbear roared in pain before charging towards Sif, claws bare and poised to strike. Gwen was about to begin casting a spell to hold the bear down, but something else struck first. She saw several, no hundreds of what looked to be transparent swords that shot up from the ground beneath the nornbear, crippling and inflicting several injuries upon the beast. Gwen looked over Sif's shoulder to see Kyte, who had thrust his own sword into the ground and used some sort of skill to conjure up the hundred blades that held the bear down. Seeing her chance, Gwen readied her weapon to finish the nornbear off, but Jora intervened.

"No, I must finish this." she said, holding out her own sword before Gwen.

"But-"

"He is my brother." she interrupted. "My responsibility." and with that said, the young norn stepped forward and thrust her blade into the bear's heart, effectively killing it. The nornbear howled in pain, before it slumped over, and its eyes went blank.

"Jora," Kyte said, hobbling over. "you have my sympathies."

"It could only end this way." she replied softly, laying a hand on her former brother's cursed corpse. She then got to her feet and examined her own body. "The curse has been lifted, for both me and my brother."

"You have regained the ability to become the bear?" Vekk asked, curiously.

"I believe so." Jora replied, before turning to the group. "You have helped me, brave warriors, so I shall help you."

"Good." Ogden said, speaking up. "We need to unite the other norn to fight the Destroyers."

"Unfortunately, I fear my words will carry little weight." Jora said sadly. "I now have my brother's blood on my hands."

"Well if you can't influence the norn, who can?"

"There is one called Olaf, the sevenfold son of Olaf." Jora informed them. "He is esteemed by many. As for me, I will seek out Egil, who tells tales by the flame. I need to fully redeem my family's name."

"We need to find this Olaf then," Ogden said. "I need to speak with a norn leader."

"Norn do not have leaders, dwarf, only heroes."

"Jora wait," Kyte said. "we can aid you and seek allies to join our cause. Let us help you."

"You have the spirit of a norn, human." Jora said, walking over to Kyte and kneeling before him. "I am proud to call you a friend."

x x x x

Once the party had returned to Sifhalla, the norn made sure the injured were tended to immediately, and that any wounds sustained were to be healed. Kyte was carried into Sif's home, where his back was to be bandaged and healed, with Pyre not far behind. Gwen asked one of the norn what had become of her friends Xandra and Kahmu, and she received word that they had been taken care of and were currently recovering.

"Can I see them?" she asked.

"They reside in Sker's residence." a norn informed her, and pointed her in the right direction. Gwen entered the home of Sker, a norn merchant, who welcomed Gwen in and showed her to her friends. Both Kahmu and Xandra were awake, and Xandra hugged Gwen as soon as she came in, but Kahmu was still too weak to move.

"I'm glad you're ok." she said as Xandra released her embrace.

"I am too." the Ritualist replied solemnly.

"Kahmu, how are you?" Gwen said, moving to his bedside.

"Been better." he chuckled. "Gwen, I'm sorry about what happened in the cave. I could see what I was doing, but I could not control it."

"Don't worry about it." Gwen assured him. "I'm just glad you're going to be fine."

"Did you find your friends?" Xandra asked.

"Yes, I did." she replied, smiling. "And I have you two to thank. If it weren't for you two, I probably wouldn't have gotten here alive."

"Well, we did run into a bit of trouble." Kahmu grinned.

"If you guys recover enough, you're welcome to join us." invited Gwen. "We could use extra hands, I'm sure."

Xandra and Kahmu smiled nervously at each other before Xandra replied. "Thanks for the offer, Gwen, but we might go our separate ways."

Gwen looked down and saw that Xandra was holding Kahmu's hand in hers, more lovingly than friendly, and she simply smiled. "I understand. What are you plans?"

"I thought we might head back to Gunnar's Hold." said Xandra, smiling at Kahmu. "Give the norn fighting tournament another crack. _Together_, this time."

"I wish you all the best." said Gwen, embracing the both of them one last time. "And again, thank you."

"We don't regret meeting you Gwen." Kahmu said. "I hope our paths again someday."

They said their final goodbyes, and Gwen left them, glad that both of them were going to be ok, and also the fact that the two of them had become… closer. She entered Sif's house to see Kyte and saw that he was sitting on the edge of his bed, all bandaged up.

"Should you really be up?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Ordering me around already?" he chuckled.

"You know me." she said, walking over to sit beside him. She looked into his eyes for a moment, before reaching over to give him a soft kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." he whispered. "And despite what I said at the Eye of the North, I'm glad you're here."

They spent a moment with each other, just talking, with Kyte telling her what he's been through to get to this point, and with Gwen telling him her tale of how she came to be here with him, once again.

"I'm not leaving this time." she said, as they lay on the bed, her head resting on his chest.

"And I'm not leaving you again." he said, kissing her forehead. After a while, Kyte drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the events that had happened that day. Gwen let him rest, and retreated back out into the cold night, where she saw Jora standing at the top of a hill, simply staring at the stars.

"Jora?" she asked, approaching the norn.

"Ah, Gwen, am I right?" asked Jora, turning to face her. "Your friend has told me many things about you."

"Has he?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He missed you." she said simply. "Longed for you. I am almost certain he loves you."

"Well…"

"It's good." Jora interrupted, and Gwen simply looked at her. "It's still good to see something beautiful flourish in a world with so much evil."

"I'm sorry about your brother." Gwen said.

"As am I." Jora said, looking back to the stars. "Svanir was always reckless, but we were both to blame for his transformation."

"We've all made mistakes." Gwen said. "Trust me, I know all about them."

"Our mistakes are what keep us going." said Jora. "They make us who we are, and ultimately contribute to our destiny."

"You believe in destiny?" Gwen asked. She had never been one for destiny, as she believed in making her own path, her own way.

"Everyone is destined to do something." replied Jora. "I was destined to be cursed, and in the end, I was destined to kill my brother to end it. Just like you were destined to become who you are today. I'm sure your time with the Charr reflects that."

"How do you know about that?" she asked.

"Your friend likes to talk a lot." Jora said, smiling a little. "The Charr that travels with you also does." Gwen said nothing, but continued to listen to Jora's words. "We cannot know our own destinies, we just have to follow the path it sets out for us. I may or may not live to see this war with the Destroyers end, and you may or may not be destined to end up together with Kyte. We just… _play our roles_."

Gwen glanced at Jora, before turning back to stare at the stars with her, taking in her words with consideration. She didn't know whether to believe in destiny or not, but she had to admit, some of Jora's words caught her attention, and she couldn't help wonder if destiny was indeed true, what would _she_ be destined for?


	15. Sins

**Chapter Fifteen: Sins**

Gwen gathered supplies for their upcoming journey to Jaga Moraine, where they were apparently seeking out a norn by the name of Egil Fireteller. It had been almost a week since they vanquished the curse that had fallen Jora and her brother, who had become what they called the nornbear. Kyte and Pyre had been in recovery the entire week, resting and regaining their energy for the journey ahead. Although they had insisted that they were fine, Gwen and Jora refused to listen to their pleas to set out earlier. "Not until you can walk more than five feet." Jora had said, as a stubborn Pyre had attempted to walk out the door, but stumbled and fell due to the fractured ribs he had sustained in the fight against the nornbear. But with the help of some traditional norn healing and medicines, the healing process had been a lot quicker, and Gwen constantly reminded them that they were lucky to even be out of bed this quickly.

"I'm fine now, really." Kyte protested, as Gwen tried to force him back into bed. She looked concerned as he got to his feet and stretched his arms and back muscles, testing the injuries to see if they held up. Satisfied, he smiled. "See?"

"Don't go rushing into battle anytime soon." she warned, before kissing him gently on the cheek and heading back out. "I'm going to check on Pyre. _Stay here_." She walked across the house to the opposite room, where the Charr was being treated. He could hear voices arguing as she approached.

"I told you I'm fine!" she heard Pyre growl.

"You're ribs were fractured," the voice of Jora said. "I think you should rest more."

Gwen opened the door to the room to see Pyre glaring up at Jora, his teeth bared and a large snarl erupting from his lips. "When _I _think I should rest more, I will!"

"You're stubborn." was all Jora said.

"And you're irritating." Pyre shot back. "I'm ready to press on, so let's go!" Jora said nothing, but instead took the butt of her sword and prodded Pyre's chest with it. The Charr yelped in pain and doubled over, clutching his bruised ribs.

"What did I tell you?" asked Jora. "I barely touched it."

"You crazy b-"

"Pyre!" Gwen interrupted, giving him a deathly glare. The Charr hushed instantly and merely growled again.

"What are you doing here, mouse?" he asked, in a softer tone this time. Jora simply chuckled to herself.

"I came to check on you, see if you had recovered." she replied. "Kyte's doing okay now, you on the other hand…"

"I'm _fine_." he repeated through his gritted teeth. "I just won't be taking any hits to the chest anytime soon." he scowled at Jora.

"What's all this noise about?" Kyte asked, poking his head through the doorway.

"I told you to _stay_." sighed Gwen.

"Oh no, come in, join the party!" shouted Pyre sarcastically. "Here, have a poke at my ribs while you're at it!"

"Shut up, Pyre." Gwen snapped. "His injuries are still fairly serious, what do you think?" she asked, turning to Kyte.

"I would ask him to rest a few more days, but we're short on time." he said. "We've already wasted a week here, and the Destroyers aren't going on holiday anytime soon."

"My thoughts exactly!" said Pyre, jumping to his feet again, still clutching his side. "I've been through worse pains than this, I can _handle _it, so let's go!"

"He'll continue to heal while we travel." said Kyte. "But we'll need to take some healing supplies with us."

"I'll talk to Sif." replied Jora with an approving nod. "But yes, I agree, time is short."

"Then we should move as soon as we can."

"I'll make the preparations." said Jora, leaving the room.

"Ogden and Vekk have been sorting out our supplies." said Gwen, as Jora headed past them.

"I'll be sure to let them know."

"In the meantime," said Kyte, staring at his Charr ally. "Pyre, get back in this bed." the Charr grumbled something inaudible as he crawled his way back into bed, and Gwen couldn't help but smile a little to herself as she headed out of Pyre's room with Kyte, clutching his hand in hers.

"I'm surprised he listens to you." she whispered.

"A lot happened while you were gone." he replied. "He may be a Charr, but I trust him, and I'm sure he trusts me."

"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know how you feel about the Charr, but believe me. I think Pyre is… different."

Gwen said nothing in reply and just shrugged, thoughts running through her mind. Perhaps he was right. Pyre had, after all, helped them rescue her Ebon Vanguard allies, and was willing to kill his own people to do so. He also kept his word after they had helped him, something she was sure he would back down from, but she had been wrong about that. Maybe she was wrong about him.

"Well, until we move out, _you_ need to get more rest." she said, pulling him by the hand and leading him back to the bed.

"Gwen…" he sighed.

"No." she said firmly, and pointed to the bed. Kyte reluctantly climbed back in and she smiled, leaning down to give him a long kiss. "Now rest."

x x x x

Within twenty-four hours, the party were up and ready to leave Sifhalla for Jaga Moraine. Sif Shadowhunter had provided them with everything they needed and more, and they thanked her before setting out into the snowy mountains once more. Jora led the way, with Kyte and Pyre trailing, as currently, they were the weakest of the group.

"You sure you want to accompany me on this quest?" asked Jora.

"You're one of us now." said Kyte. "We help our friends."

"I thank you." replied Jora.

"How is this going to help us against the Destroyers?" Ogden whispered to Vekk, who shrugged.

"We're recruiting allies, Ogden, I thought this is what you wanted." said Gwen.

"Well, you're half right." the dwarf replied. "But so far we've only gained one norn ally. We need a lot more to fight the Destroyers."

"The norn do not fight in armies, dwarf." Jora said. "We fight our own battles. I would fight this one on my own, if your human friend weren't so insisting."

"I heard that." Kyte said from the back of the party, and Jora simply smiled.

"What do you hope Egil Fireteller will help us do?" Gwen asked curiously.

"The curse has been lifted from me," Jora explained. "but I carry the blood of my brother on my hands. I need to reclaim my family's honor and regain my status among the norn. Egil Fireteller will show me how."

They travelled for hours with the morning sun beaming down upon them. The weather was good, and they came across no threat along the way. Soon, the party were able to see a smoke pillar in the distance, coming from a mountainside between two hills.

"His camp is there." said Jora, pointing east.

They had reached Egil's Perch by midday, and as they approached the camp, they could see a norn sitting around the large fire. Gwen eyes instantly what he was wearing: he was covered head to toe in a magnificent looking outfit, a fur and wolf-skin covered armor. His feet, however, were wearing boots that looked like bear's feet.

"Egil Fireteller." Jora said, and the norn looked up, before a big grin appeared behind his large busy beard.

"Ah, Jora." he said, getting to his feet. "It's good to see you, child."

"And you."

"The things I've heard, are they true?" he asked. "The curse has been lifted?"

"It's all true." nodded Jora. "I could not have done it though, without the help of my friends here."

"What a strange bunch." Egil said, eying them. "Don't usually see humans coexisting with the Charr. Dwarves and asurans for that matter, either."

"We came to seek you in hopes that you can help Jora regain her family's honor among the norn." said Gwen, changing the subject.

"Of course!" Egil Fireteller shouted. "It's good to see that Jora can once again become the bear. Now, perhaps she can indeed regain her status."

"What must I do?" asked Jora, following Egil around the fire.

"Your clan homestead has been recently overrun with the Charr." Egil began. "No respected norn would allow their land to be overrun with such beasts."

"_Such beasts_?" repeated Pyre. "Just what does this guy think he's-"

"Relax, Pyre." said Kyte, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know he doesn't mean you."

"If Jora were to reclaim her lands, her family's honor will be restored, and the blood of her brother washed from her hands." Egil continued. "You will all need the strength of the bear to defeat the Charr threat. We must first commune with the bear spirit and seek counsel. We will travel to the sacred alter just south of here and light the spiritual flame."

"Great, more shrines and _more_ spirits." muttered Pyre.

"Who knows, perhaps the bear will pick you again." Kyte teased.

"The bear will only appear if our cause is true and just." Egil said. "Come."

The party joined Egil Fireteller in the journey south towards the sacred alter. The walk was not long, and they soon arrived to a site of old ruins and torn down structures.

"The alter is just ahead." Egil said. "but be cautious, once we attempt to light the spiritual flames, there are spirits who walk this place, cursed and forgotten. They may attempt to stop us from fulfilling the ritual."

"We'll just have to stop them." said Jora, patting her sword.

"There's the alter." said Egil. "Light the spiritual flame." Jora stepped onto the circular alter and began the ritual, lighting the sacred alter. A beautiful blue flame began to burn, and the ritual had begun. However, a chill was in the air, and something was not right. Gwen could feel it, and she knew the rest of them could too.

"The spirits are here." Egil Fireteller warned, retrieving a large spear from his back. "If we do not fend them off, they will consume the spiritual flame."

Gwen drew her sword, as did Kyte and Jora. Pyre strung an arrow into his bow and Vekk and Ogden retrieved their staffs. They created a circle around the spiritual flame, protecting it from anything that desired to consume it. Gwen could hear faint whispers and hissing, but she couldn't see where they were coming from.

"I saw something!" Pyre called out. Just ahead, at the edge of the alter, a dark, transparent figure could be seen crawling its way towards them.

"What are those?" asked Vekk.

"Nightmare creatures." Egil replied. "Be wary, they are dangerous."

"There's only one." said Ogden, but at that moment, several more nightmare spirits began to appear at the edge of the alter, hissing and whispering.

"You were saying?" muttered Gwen.

"Next time dwarf, keep your mouth closed." growled Pyre. He aimed his bow at one of the nightmare creatures and fired the arrow. The projectile travelled through the air and pierced through the spirit, vaporizing it upon contact.

"So they can be harmed." said Kyte.

"They're can't be harmed, only repelled." explained Egil. "They will keep coming back so long as the flame burns."

"Then let us repel the creatures!" Jora roared, charging forwards. She swung her blade through the air, cutting through several of the nightmare spirits, all of them vanishing in a wisp as her blade passed through them. Following her lead, the rest of them dispersed to repel the oncoming nightmare spirits. Gwen fought beside Kyte, waving her blade around her, the spirits shrieking as her blade passed through their transparent bodies.

"They don't seem to be putting up much of a fight!" Ogden cried out, repelling several of the nightmare spirits that were crawling towards him. At that moment, one of the spirits reappeared behind him and thrust its arm through his body. Ogden cried out in pain as he collapsed to the floor. There was no physically injury, but by the looks of Ogden, who was doubled over in agony, it felt real. Vekk was there in an instant, and repelled the spirit before moving in to assist the fallen dwarf.

"I _told _you not the open your mouth!" shouted Pyre, moving back to defend both Vekk and Ogden.

More and more spirits had begun to gather, and soon they had overwhelmed the party. Gwen was having trouble beating them back as the continued to reappear at the edge of the alter over and over again.

"The ritual is nearly complete!" Egil shouted. "Keep them back!"

Gwen turned back to see that the spiritual had grown considerably larger. It was now just as tall as Egil himself, perhaps even taller. The flame suddenly erupted, sending out a shockwave that repelled every nightmare spirit attempting to approach the flame, and this time, they didn't come back.

"It's done!" Egil announced. "The flame burns brightly. Come, kneel before the flame and ask for the bear's blessing." All six of them kneeled in a circle around the spiritual flame, as it continued to burn bright and tall. As they did, Egil began to speak.

"We call upon the bear for her blessing." he said. "We call upon the bear for her power, and her strength."

Gwen raised her head slightly and saw that within the spiritual flame, the face of a bear could be seen, emerging from the blue flame in all its glory. She stood before them silent and watching. Egil Fireteller continued. "Stand before the bear and state your purpose."

Jora rose to her feet and stepped forwards, bowing at the spirit of the bear. "I am Jora. My brother and I caused our family dishonour. I seek to redeem our family's name."

"To rebuild your family's name, you must regain your family's homestead." Egil spoke for the bear spirit. "Only tragedy will come from a home built with blood-stained hands. Wash clean your sins. Blood washes blood."

"Blood washes blood." Jora repeated, her head still bowed.

"Walk the path of the bear." Egil continued.

"I will walk the path of the bear."

"You know what you must do." Egil said. "Go now, and do what the bear spirit has commanded of you."

"I understand." Jora said. "I thank you."

"You understand?" asked Vekk, raising his head. "Could you help _us_ understand?"

"Blood washes blood." Jora said. "To restore my family's honor, we must reclaim my family's land."

"And where might that be?" asked Kyte.

"East of here, in Bjora Marches." explained Jora. "As Egil Fireteller told us earlier, it has been overrun by the Charr. We must slay them in order to cleanse my sins."

"More Shaman-worshippers?" asked Pyre. "This should be interesting."

"Killing the Charr?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Count me in."

"I welcome your assistance." said Jora. "The spirit of the bear will guide us to her shrine. From there, we will confront the invaders."

"I will also accompany you." Egil Fireteller said. "You know what must be done to restore your family's name. Are you ready?"

"I am ready." Jora nodded. She looked over to the spirit of the bear, who walked several paces east, and vanished into thin air, before reappearing at the edge of the ruins, next to the passage leading towards the Bjora Marches.

"The bear spirit has guided us forwards." Egil said. "Follow her to victory."

"Blood washes blood." Jora said one more time, before they set off to restore Jora's family's honor, and cleanse her of her sins.


End file.
